U.K. PRODUCER PRICES SEEN MOVED BY TECHNICALITIES U.K. Producer price data for March were roughly as expected after taking into account technical factors which affected the year-on-year outcome, economic analysts said. The figures showed a 0.3 pct provisional, non-seasonally adjusted rise in output prices in March, unchanged from February and close to the average for the last six months. The year-on-year rise was put at 3.7 pct, down from 4.2 pct in February. But Chris Tinker, economist at brokerage house Phillips and Drew, said the drop in the year-on-year rate mainly reflected a rise in excise duties which affected the index in March last year. He cautioned that it was dangerous to read too much into the monthly figure, adding that a rise of only 0.2 pct in April would take the year-on-year rise back above 4.2 pct. Analysts also noted that a drop in manufacturers' input prices was almost entirely due to anticipated seasonal factors such as a fall in industrial electricity costs. Duncan Squire of Lloyds Merchant Bank said the figures were slightly disappointing in that the strengthening of sterling had not yet reduced input prices as much as expected. Both he and Tinker said this factor should help keep input costs down over the next few months, although Tinker added that last year's fall in oil prices is now about to drop out of the year-on-year comparisons and is likely to lead to a return to rises in the index rather than falls.