Prices fall for many raw materials around the world.
According to the short-term indicators of energy production, in January 2016 there was an annual decrease in total net electricity generation by 10.5 percent, which means that the downward trend that lasts from May last year has continued, although it was briefly interrupted in October, analysis by the Croatian Chamber of Economy showed, reports energetika-net.com on March 19, 2016.
The January decline in total net electricity production is solely a result of the decline in production of electricity from hydroelectric power plants (21.1 percent), because thermal power stations (5.9 percent) and wind power and other renewable sources (33.3 percent) recorded an increase in production.
In parallel with the aforementioned decline in electricity generation, there has been a growth trend in electricity imports. In January of this year, they were higher by 35.9 percent compared to January last year. Crude oil imports were not recorded in January this year or in December 2015.
The production of crude oil increased by 5.7 percent, while processing fell by 59.7 percent. The level of crude oil processing in January of this year amounted to 48,000 tons and was the lowest since February 2015. Besides the negative trends in crude oil processing and production of petroleum products (decline of 53.5 percent), the level of imports of petroleum products (207,000 tonnes) in January was highest since October 2008, when the country imported 210,000 tonnes.
Energy prices in the consumer basket, measured on the basis of the consumer price index (CPI), show that their current share amounts to 10.8 percent, which indicates a deeper deflation in Croatia. Oil prices will remain the key deflationary source in creation of the consumer price index in the following months, whereby the direct intensity of their annual decline will be somewhat lower than in previous months due to the higher basis and partial recovery in prices.
The futures prices of crude oil on the world market are currently lower, on a yearly basis, by about 15 percent. This means that the rate of decline is lower by half compared to 15 days ago. The prices have fallen on annual basis for almost all other raw materials on the world market. Such a trend in the prices of raw materials around the world, especially of oil and food, represents the common lever which is pushing the consumer prices down globally.
