Capital Goods Price Index Rises 0.9 Percent
Capital goods prices rose 0.9 percent in the March 2004 quarter, when compared with the December 2003 quarter, according
to Statistics New Zealand. On an annual basis, the Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI) rose 2.5 percent from the March 2003
quarter to the March 2004 quarter.
The most significant contribution to the overall increase for the March 2004 quarter came from a 1.9 percent increase in
the residential buildings index. The main reasons cited by respondents for this quarter's price increase were the rising
costs of subcontractors' charges, construction materials and labour. This is the sixth consecutive quarter in which the
residential buildings index has been the most significant upward contributor to the CGPI. In the year to the March 2004
quarter, the residential buildings index rose by 8.8 percent.
The increases in residential and non-residential buildings were partly offset by a 0.5 percent fall in the plant,
machinery and equipment index and a 0.4 percent fall in the transport equipment index in the March 2004 quarter.
Respondents cited a favourable exchange rate as the main reason for this quarter's decreases in both of these indexes.
The plant, machinery and equipment index has recorded quarterly falls in the last nine quarters, and is now 6.4 percent
lower than in the December 2001 quarter.
Brian Pink
Government Statistician
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