Producer price inflation, UK: April 2026

• Producer input prices rose by 7.7% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised rise of 5.3% in the year to March.

• Producer output (factory gate) prices rose by 4.0% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised rise of 3.0% in the year to March.

• On a monthly basis, producer input prices rose by 2.4% and producer output (factory gate) prices rose by 1.4% in April 2026.

• Crude oil and refined petroleum products provided the largest upward contributions to change in the annual inflation rates for input and output prices, respectively.

• The Import Price Index (IPI) rose by 8.0% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised rise of 4.1% in the year to March.

Producer input prices rose by 7.7% in the year to April 2026, which is up from a revised increase of 5.3% in the year to March (Figure 1). Monthly input prices rose by 2.4% in April 2026, down from a revised increase of 4.3% in March (Table 1).

Producer output (factory gate) prices rose by 4.0% in the year to April 2026, which is up from a revised increase of 3.0% in the year to March (Figure 1). Monthly output prices rose by 1.4% in April 2026, the same as the revised increase of 1.4% in March (Table 1).

The largest contribution to the annual input producer price inflation rate was an upward contribution from inputs of crude oil. Find more detail in Table 2, in Section 3: Input prices.

The largest contribution to the annual output producer price inflation rate was an upward contribution from outputs of coke and refined petroleum products. Find more detail in Table 4, in Section 4: Output prices. 

The data published this month continue to be affected by the hostilities in the Middle East. For more information on the data used for oil and energy prices see Section 7: Data sources and quality.

Producer Price Index (PPI) estimates for both March and April 2026 are provisional. PPI figures for the latest 12 months are subject to revisions as additional survey data are returned and validated. Effective response rates at the time of first publishing can be found in Section 7: Data sources and quality.

Of the 10 product groups for the input Producer Price Index (PPI), nine made upward contributions to the annual inflation rate in April 2026. The largest of these came from inputs of:

• crude oil

• metals and non-metallic mineral products

• other produced material

The prices of inputs of crude oil rose by 75.4% in the year to April 2026, compared with a revised increase of 51.8% in the year to March (Table 2). Crude oil also provided the largest contribution to change in the annual inflation rate between March and April 2026. On a monthly basis, crude oil prices rose by 12.0% in April 2026, down from a revised increase of 52.2% in March.

The prices of inputs of metals and non-metallic mineral products rose by 4.6% in the year to April 2026, compared with a revised increase of 4.1% in the year to March (Table 2). The annual price rise in April was partly caused by non-EU imports of precious metals.

The prices of inputs of other produced materials rose by 8.7% in the year to April 2026, compared with a revised increase of 4.5% in the year to March (Table 2). The annual price rise in April was partly caused by refined petroleum products.

The only offsetting downward contribution to the annual inflation rate came from inputs of domestic food, where prices fell by 0.4% in the year to April 2026, down from a revised fall of 0.2% in the year to March (Table 2). The annual price fall was partly caused by price falls in milk from dairy cattle.

The Import Price Index (prices of materials and fuels imported by UK manufacturers) rose by 8.0% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised increase of 4.1% in the year to March. On a monthly basis, import prices rose by 3.0% in April 2026, down from an increase of 3.6% in March. The annual price rise was mainly caused by non-EU imports of crude petroleum. The Sterling Index rose by 0.1% in the year to April 2026, up from a fall of 0.4% in March (Table 3).

All 10 product groups for the output Producer Price Index (PPI) made upward contributions to the annual inflation rate in April 2026. The largest of these came from:

• outputs of coke and refined petroleum products

• other outputs from manufacturing

• basic metals, fabricated metal products and machinery

Prices for coke and refined petroleum products rose by 52.6% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised rise of 23.7% in the year to March (Table 4). Coke and refined petroleum products also provided the largest contribution to change in the annual inflation rate between March and April 2026. On a monthly basis, prices for this product group rose by 16.1% in April 2026, down from a revised increase of 30.1% in March.

Prices for other outputs from manufacturing rose by 2.7% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised rise of 2.6% in the year to March (Table 4). The price increase was partly caused by repair services of fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment.

Prices for basic metals, fabricated metal products and machinery rose by 3.7% in the year to April 2026, the same as the revised rise of 3.7% in the year to March (Table 4). The price increase was partly caused by machining services.

The Export Price Index (EPI) rose by 7.7% in the year to April 2026, up from a revised rise of 6.4% in the year to March. On a monthly basis, export prices rose by 1.3% in April 2026, down from a revised rise of 2.4% in March. The annual price rise was partly caused by exports of precious metals.

Contribution

As the aggregate producer prices indices are built up from individual product indices, it is possible to decompose overall inflation into contributions from different products. Those contributions reflect both the inflation rates for each product and their weight in the index.

Input prices

This is the price of materials and fuels bought by UK manufacturers for processing. It includes materials and fuels that are either imported or sourced from within the domestic market. It is not limited to materials used in the final product but includes what is required by businesses in their normal day-to-day running, such as fuels.

Output prices

This is the amount received by UK producers for the goods that they sell to the domestic market, also known as factory gate prices. It includes the margin that businesses make on goods, in addition to costs, such as labour, raw materials and energy, as well as interest on loans, site or building maintenance, or rent.

Producer price inflation

This is change in the prices of goods bought and sold by UK manufacturers, including price indices of materials and fuels purchased (input prices) and factory gate prices (output prices). If the producer price inflation rate is a positive value, this indicates that prices have risen, while a negative value indicates prices have fallen.

Services producer price inflation

This describes quarterly estimates monitoring the changes in prices charged for services provided to UK-based customers for a range of industries.

Weight

This is the importance of the price of interest relative to other prices collected. With annual chain-linking, this is updated every year, using business sales revenue data.

For information on the strengths and limitations of the data, methods used, and the data uses and users, please see our Producer Price Indices (PPI) quality and methodology information (QMI) and our Services Producer Price Indices (SPPI) QMI.

Development of producer price statistics

We are continuing to improve the quality of these statistics to address the findings and requirements set out in the Office for Statistics Regulation's (OSR's) Spotlight on Quality: Producer Price Indices publication. Information on how we plan to address the OSR requirements can be found in our Producer prices development plan. Once the developments are complete, we will begin the process for seeking reaccreditation. These statistics are currently designated as official statistics.

Oil and energy data

The crude oil data are collected from the four crude oil refining businesses within the UK. It is based on the volume and value of oil purchases made in the first part of the month (typically the first week), supplemented with the refining businesses' estimate of the volume and value of purchases for the remainder of the month. It should be noted that these purchases will represent a (varying) mix of future and spot prices.

The oil derivatives data (diesel, gas oil and aviation turbine fuel) are also collected from the refining businesses. The process is like that used for crude oil but refers to sales rather than purchases.

The unleaded petrol data are sourced from pump prices from a range of business types. They are based on weekly data with the necessary tax elements removed.

The gas and electricity data are an average price for the month from a panel of suppliers relating to the supply of gas and electricity to industrial and commercial end-users, which differs from the data provided for the purposes of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The data include a mixture of fixed price contracts and flexible price contracts, compiled by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Like the oil data, the first estimate is based on the average price for the first part of the month (based upon the volume and value of the energy supplied), supplemented with the suppliers' estimate of the volume and value for the remainder of the month.

All these figures are revised as new data (for example, on the volumes and values of oil purchased) are received after one to two months.

Response rates

In April 2026, the response rates for the domestic PPI and Import Price Index (IPI) were higher than they were in April 2025, while the response rate for the Export Price Index (EPI) was lower (Table 5).