The report indicates that in March 2023, the price of oil in euros went down significantly by 5.2% after a 0.9% increase in February. The price of North Sea crude oil (Brent) in dollars also declined substantially by 5.3%, reaching an average of $78.4 per barrel. This drop in oil prices had a direct impact on the prices of imported raw materials, which fell back by 1.3% in March after a 1.3% increase in February. The decrease in imported raw material prices was mainly due to the drop in those of industrial raw materials, which fell by 2.6% after a 0.3% decline in February.
Additionally, the report shows that food commodity prices remained virtually stable, with a slight decrease of 0.1% after a 2.8% increase in February. On the other hand, the prices of agro-industrial raw materials decreased sharply by 7.7%, particularly those for paper pulp (-11.2%) and sawn softwood (-8.0%). However, prices for tropical woods increased by 0.4% in March after a 0.5% decrease in February. Finally, hide prices remained virtually stable with a negligible increase of 0.1%.
Overall, the report indicates that the prices of oil and imported raw materials experienced significant drops in March 2023, while food commodity prices remained stable.