The price of goods leaving Britain's factories rose for the third month in a row in February as manufacturers struggled to cope with higher costs. Output prices rose 0.3pc in February from January, National Statistics said, which was in line with expectations. On a year-on-year basis, producer output prices rose 1.6pc, faster than the 1.5pc rise in January, and the biggest increase since January 2001.
But manufacturers' raw material costs soared in February, according to the statistics office. It said input prices rose 1.4pc from January and were up 5.9pc from a year earlier, reflecting a 2.3pc increase in oil prices on the month. Increasing energy costs due to higher crude oil prices is affecting costs in most economies. Wholesale prices in the US jumped 1.6pc in January from the month before, while German factory prices gained 1.3pc. This morning in London, crude oil is up 25c to USD34.35 per barrel//www.fxcentre.com