Raw Material Prices for Manufacturing Fall in 1993

The prices of raw materials for manufacturing are estimated to go down by 8 percent (in dollar) in 1993. Prices have started to crumble at the end of 1992. The strongest reductions will occur for sawnwood (1993 –27%) and wool (–17%). In the latter case the planned reductions in production could not keep up with the fall in demand. Prices of non-ferrous metals fall in all markets, due to weak demand in the Western industrial countries, the failure to reduce capacity and net exports from the Eastern countries. However, only nickel imports from the Eastern countries have a significant market share in the West (15 to 20 percent). Copper (6 percent), aluminium and zinc (5 percent each) and lead (3 percent) play only a minor role. In the fourth quarter of 1992 Austrian import prices of industrial raw materials fell below the level of 1975; during the first quarter of 1993 they remained below that level by 6 percent (WIFO Index I) and respectively 8 percent (WIFO Index II), respectively. Raw materials produced by the agricultural sector are especially cheap now (respectively, 11 percent and 13 percent lower than in 1975).