Highlights
Export Price Index (EPI)
1. EPI rose by 4.2% from 119.4 in the third quarter to 124.4 in the fourth quarter of 2020, mainly due to an increase in the prices of “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+7.5%).
2. Compared to price levels in the corresponding quarter of 2019, the index increased by 16.6%. That was mainly due to increases in the prices of “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+17.4%) and “Food and live animals" (+16.1%).
Import Price Index (IPI)
3. IPI decreased by 2.4% from 102.3 in the third quarter to 99.8 in the fourth quarter of 2020. That was mainly the effect of decreases in the prices of “Food and live animals" (-9.4%) and “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" (-2.1%), partly mitigated by increases in the prices of “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+6.5%) and “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+1.8%).
4. Compared to the corresponding quarter of 2019, the index rose by 9.5%, mainly as a result of increases in the prices of “Food and live animals" (+9.5%), “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+59.7%), “Machinery and transport equipment" (+13.8%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+9.7%), “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" (+2.3%) and “Chemical materials & related products, n.e.s" (+14.3%).
Terms of Trade Index
- The terms of trade index, i.e. the ratio of EPI to IPI, increased by 7.9 points (+6.8%) from 116.7 in the third quarter to 124.6 in the fourth quarter of 2020. Compared to 117.1 in the corresponding quarter of 2019, the terms of trade increased by 7.5 points (+6.4%).
26 March 2021
