The cost of services to businesses rose by 1.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of the yar, new data from the central Statistics Office showed today.

The index found that the cost of sea and costal travel services rise by 10.8 per cent compared with a year earlier, while air transport was 9.1 per cent higher and advertising and media services increased by 4.1 per cent during the period.

Warehousing, Storage and Cargo Handling fell by 6.1 per cent.

On a quarterly basis, the index was 0.3 per cent higher.

The Services Producer Price Index measures changes in the average prices charged by domestic service producers to other businesses for a selected range of services.