BRUSSELS, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Producer prices in Europe were flat in August compared with July, returning to a pattern of little movement, the European Commission's data office said Friday.
Prices producers received were steady in June and rose rose 0.2 percent in the 17-member, one-currency eurozone in July. In August, prices were stagnant again, the commission's data agency Eurostat reported.
In the larger 28-member European Union, producer prices rose 0.1 percent in August after rising 0.4 percent in July.
For the two months prior to June, producer prices were in decline, which puts prices on track over the past five months to just about break even.
The trend reflects an economy that has been in a prolonged recession.
The data agency said producer prices excluding the energy sector, rose 0.1 percent month to month in both regions. Prices in the energy sector rose 0.2 percent in the eurozone and 0.3 percent in the EU, the agency said.
