Services producer prices have fallen on an annual basis for first time since the current benchmark was set four years ago.

The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show services producer prices declined 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, marking the first negative annual change since 2021.

The decrease represents a significant swing from the start of last year when prices increased 4.3%.

The Services Producer Price Index measures the prices for numerous services sectors.

"Services Prices charged to businesses in January, February, and March (Q1) 2025 were on average 2.8% lower when compared with the same quarter in 2024," said Diarmuid Martin, statistician in the prices division of the CSO. 

"This marks the first time there has been a negative annual change in the current series."

A decrease of 10.6% was recorded in the real estate & rental sector, which was partly offset by increases in employment & human resource activities (+6.3%), architecture & engineering (+6.1%), and security & building (+5.8%).

On a quarterly basis, service producer prices decreased 5.6% in Q1, the pace of decline accelerating from Q4 2024 (-2.1%).

The most notable negative changes in the three months to the end of Q1 were in the real estate & rental (-12.3%), and information & communication (-5.8%) sectors. The most notable increase was recorded in architecture & engineering (+5.3%).

(Pic: Getty Images)