Livestock and Wholesale Trade Push Up PPI

Embargoed until 10:45am – 14 November 2006

Livestock and Wholesale Trade Push Up PPI

Output prices rose 0.7 percent and input prices 2.0 percent in the Producers Price Index (PPI) during the September 2006 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. The rise in the outputs index was mainly driven by higher prices in the livestock and cropping farming index. Higher prices in the wholesale trade index were the main contributor to the increase in the inputs index.

In PPI outputs, the livestock and cropping farming index increased 10.3 percent during the September 2006 quarter, its second consecutive quarterly increase, attributable to higher prices for lambs, cattle and calves.

Other significant positive contributors included the construction index (up 2.4 percent), due to increased cost of electrical installation services; and the meat and meat product manufacturing index (up 4.7 percent), mainly due to increased export prices for frozen lamb cuts.

Significant downward contributors to the PPI output index were the electricity generation and supply index (down 14.4 percent), resulting from lower spot market generation prices; and the dairy product manufacturing index (down 4.4 percent), influenced by easing world prices for milk powder and casein.

The 2.0 percent increase in input prices was primarily driven by an increase in the wholesale trade index (up 3.6 percent), mainly due to higher prices of crude oil in the mineral, metal and chemical wholesaling sector. Other major positive contributors were the meat and meat product manufacturing index (up 12.6 percent), reflecting increased wholesale prices for livestock; and the construction index (up 4.3 percent), mainly driven by construction trade services due to increasing raw material prices.

The overall increase in input prices was partly offset by a 13.2 percent fall in the electricity generation and supply index in the September 2006 quarter.

In the year to the September 2006 quarter, the PPI outputs index rose 4.5 percent and the PPI inputs index rose 6.9 percent.

Brian Pink
Government Statistician

ENDS

© Scoop Media