The competitiveness of manufacturing firms, measured on the basis of producer prices, improved by about 4 per cent between 2007 and 2013. Unit labour costs increased more than in the other main countries of the area, mainly because of the dynamics of productivity, BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  but this was offset by a reduction in profit margins.
The gain in competitiveness in trade with non-euro-area countries due to the depreciation of the euro between 2007 and 2012 has been practically wiped out in the last year. Several contrasting factors affect the performance of exchange rates.