Construction price inflation stable

Price inflation of construction materials was steady in August, as the price index of construction materials rose by 4.0% compared with August 2004: the same year-on-year rate recorded in July.

Compared with the previous month, prices rose by 0.4%.

Construction materials prices have an impact on house prices, as builders pass on rising costs to end-buyers.

On a year-to-date basis, construction materials prices rose by 6.1% in January-August, compared with January-August 2004.

This is slower than the 8.4% rise recorded for the whole of 2004.