The prices businesses are charged for a wide range of services fell by 4.1 per cent in the fourth quarter last year compared to the same three- month period a year earlier.

However, prices rose 0.4 per cent as against the third quarter, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

In the third quarter of 2009, service prices declined by 2.3 per cent.

The experimental Services Producer Price Index measures changes in the average prices charged

by domestic service producers to other businesses for a selected range of services.

It shows that the most significant quarterly price decreases were in road-related costs, which were down 2.2 per cent, and postal and courier costs, down 1.4 per cent.