By Tuba Ongun
Eurozone industrial producer prices in July decreased annually for the third consecutive month, according to official data released on Tuesday.
Producer prices plunged 7.6% year-on-year, accelerating from a 3.4% decrease in June, Eurostat said.
This was the steepest annual decline registered in the single currency zone since 2009.
The decline was mainly led by energy prices that fell 24.2% annually in July.
Prices in total industry, excluding energy, increased by 1.6% from the prior year.
The largest annual decreases in industrial producer prices were seen in Ireland (39.5%), Bulgaria (18.1%) and Italy (13.8%), while the largest hikes were registered in Hungary (18.8%), Slovakia (17.8%) and Slovenia (6.8%).
On a monthly basis, industrial producer prices dropped 0.5% in July.