The influence of energy and other cost inflations on raw materials Available to Purchase

There is still much uncertainty in Processing industries resulting from rapidly increasing costs of raw materials, energy and labour and from the general inflation in all European countries. Many companies have themselves carried out studies aimed at assessing the likely influence on their business resulting from the dramatic increase in crude oil prices in the recent past. However, other inflationary pressures are also at work — e.g. rapidly increasing costs of labour and capital — which will contribute at differing levels to the increasing costs and, therefore, prices of industrial raw materials such as chemicals, plastics and the other materials.