18th February 2026
Input Prices (Costs to Manufacturers)
Annual change: -0.2% in the year to January 2026, down from a rise in December 2025.
This indicates manufacturers paid less for materials and fuels overall compared with a year ago.
Monthly change: +0.4% in January 2026.
Key contributors:
Crude oil inputs saw the largest negative impact, falling sharply year-on-year, pulling the input index down.
Some inputs, like metals and non-metallic minerals, rose, but not enough to offset the overall decline.
Output Prices (Factory Gate Prices)
Annual change: +2.5% in the year to January 2026 - the slowest pace since mid-2025 and below December's revised 3.1%.
Monthly change: 0.0%, meaning output prices were unchanged in January.
Major contributors:
Food products and motor vehicles & transport equipment were the largest upward contributors to the annual output inflation, despite both slowing compared with December.
Coke and refined petroleum products had the biggest downward effect, with prices falling materially over the year, helping lower overall output inflation.
Trade-Related Producer Prices
Import Price Index (IPI)
Annual change: -0.6% in the year to January 2026.
A fall in imported materials and fuels contributed to reduced cost pressures for producers.
Export Price Index (EPI)
Annual change: +2.0% in the year to January 2026.
Exports saw price increases, partly driven by higher prices for items like basic metals.
Services Producer Price Inflation (SPPI)
ONS no longer publishes SPPI monthly, but quarterly service-sector inflation estimates are available (latest published datasets cover October-December 2025). From the previous quarter's release, services producer price inflation showed:
Services inflation varies by sector, with some like administrative support services showing higher annual growth than others (for example transport and storage services with lower growth rates).
This broader SPPI data suggests that service producers were still charging higher prices year-on-year heading into the end of 2025, though precise figures for January 2026 quarter were not in the latest monthly PPI release.
Summary of Key Trends (January 2026)
Producer inflation in manufacturing softened:
Inputs fell year-on-year, indicating weaker cost pressures on manufacturers.
Outputs (factory gate prices) still rose but at a slower pace than in late 2025.
Import prices declined, alleviating some price pressures from foreign materials.
Export prices rose moderately, suggesting some upward pricing power in external markets.
Services producer inflation data remains quarterly, with earlier figures for Q4 2025 showing varied rates across service sectors.
Overall, the January 2026 PPI data points to moderating producer price inflation, especially in goods inputs, which is consistent with broader easing in inflationary pressures seen in consumer price measures and energy markets. This moderation can signal less cost pass-through into consumer prices and potential easing pressures on business margins.
Read the full ONS report HERE