According to the report Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the producer and import price index rose in December 2019 by 0.1% compared with the previous month, reaching 100.7 points (December 2015 = 100). Compared with December 2018, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products fell by 1.7%. Economists had expected a 2.5% decrease.

The average annualised inflation rate in 2019 was -1.4%. The decline is primarily due to lower prices for pharmaceutical products, scrap, mineral oil products as well as metals and semi-finished metal products. While domestic producer prices fell 0.8%, import prices fell 2.5%. Average annual inflation had been + 2.4% in 2018 and + 0.9% in 2017. The higher prices for scrap were primarily responsible for the increase in the producer price index compared to the previous month. In the import price index, rising prices were registered compared to November 2019, especially for oil and gas. In contrast, metals and semi-finished metal products became cheaper.