According to the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat), in the fourth quarter of 2018, the price competitiveness index for the Catalan manufacturing industry improved by 0.9 points year-on-year in relation to the group of industrialised countries, maintaining a positive trend that started in the previous quarter.

 

Prices in relation to the group of industrialised countries continued to exhibit the positive trend of previous quarters, and this component made a positive contribution of 0.7 points year-on-year in the fourth quarter. For the first time since the end of 2015, the nominal component also made a positive contribution, with an improvement of 0.2 points year-on-year.

 

The positive trend for the competitiveness index is observed across the geographical areas analysed and is driven in all cases by the industrial price component. The nominal component only makes a positive contribution in the case of developed countries. In comparison to the eurozone, the positive trend for the index continued for the seventh consecutive quarter, with an improvement of 0.4 points year-on-year in the fourth quarter, and in relation to the EU-28 area, there was a gain of 0.6 points. For developed countries and newly industrialised countries in Asia, the turnaround that began in the previous quarter, following a negative trend over several quarters, continued, with an improvement of 1.0 and 0.3 points year-on-year, respectively.