Manufacturing companies continue to benefit from decreasing energy costs and certain raw materials. According to the Czech Statistical Office, industrial producer prices fell by 0.8 percent year-on-year in August, showing a slight improvement from July’s 1.2 percent decline.

The drop in industrial prices is primarily influenced by lower global oil prices and a stronger Czech koruna making imports cheaper, according to Raiffeisenbank analyst Tereza Krček. In contrast, other sectors are experiencing price increases – agricultural producer prices rose by more than 11 percent, construction work prices increased by 2.6 percent, and market services for businesses went up by 4.4 percent.

In the agricultural sector, plant production prices rose by 4.6 percent, with fruit prices increasing by 14 percent and oilseeds by 10 percent. The animal production sector saw an 18.9 percent year-on-year price increase, with eggs rising dramatically by nearly 45 percent and cattle by 40 percent.

Despite the positive trend in industrial prices, energy costs remain high, continuing to hamper industrial growth. Future challenges for the sector include impending American tariffs and increasing competition from China – issues currently affecting German industrial production.

The ongoing price increases in agriculture are attributed to expensive fertilizers, rising cultivation and breeding costs, and expensive labor, which prevent any significant deceleration in price growth according to analysts. Meanwhile, construction prices maintained the same year-on-year growth rate as in July, with construction materials and products used in construction being 1.1 percent higher than last year.