Wholesale electricity prices fall but no relief expected yet for hard-press households

Wholesale electricity prices decreased by 8.7% since February 2023 and were 50.5% lower in March 2023 when compared with March 2022, latest figures from the Central Statistics off.

It remains to be seen if these lower costs will be passed on to domestic users with utility companies previously stating that it would pass on reductions to business customers first. 

It is not expected that the domestic prices will reduce significantly for a number of months at least, as utility companies generally buy their wholesale electricity months in advance.  

Domestic producer prices for manufactured goods were on average 9.2% higher in March 2023 compared with a year earlier, while producer prices for exported goods increased by 1.1%.

Producer prices for food products rose by 5.2% in the 12 months to March 2023, while the Food Products, Beverages & Tobacco index also saw an increase of 5.2%.

The latest figures show some of the most notable changes in producer prices for food products over the 12 months to March 2023 were: Fruit & Vegetables +18.2%, Fish & Fish Products +17.5%, Dairy Products +15.4%, and Grain, Milling, Starches & Animal Feeds +11.6%.

The most notable changes in other producer prices in the year were: Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products (such as glass, ceramics, cement, concrete and stone) +17.8%, Wearing Apparel +8.8%, Wood & Wood Products +7.5%, and Furniture +7.3%.

Wholesale prices for construction products decreased by 0.1% in the month but increased by 13.5% in the 12 months since March 2022.