The total year-in-year growth of Slovenian industrial producer prices remained just above 1% in April. Energy price growth strengthened further, primarily owing to higher prices in electricity supply. The growth of prices of investment goods slowed somewhat, after stronger Q1 growth, but remained higher than last year’s average. Higher energy prices accelerated the growth of industrial producer prices on the domestic market. The growth of prices on foreign markets continues to ease, primarily on account of the moderation of foreign demand.

In May economic sentiment improved for the first time this year. The main reason was increased confidence in manufacturing and trade. In manufacturing, particularly expectations regarding production, export orders and future exports improved relative to April, which can be attributed to favourable economic indicators in the euro area in the fist quarter. In retail trade, the assessments of current sales improved the most. Confidence in construction, service activities and among consumers remained unchanged in May. Despite the improvement in May, economic sentiment remains lower than in the last two years.