Final demand producer prices in Australia added 0.5 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2015, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday – accelerating from the 0.1 percent increase in the three months prior.
The increase was mainly due to rises in the prices received for computer and electronic equipment manufacturing (+7.5 percent), building construction (+0.8 percent) and other transport equipment manufacturing (+7.4 percent).
They were offset by falls in the prices received for petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing (-17.0 percent) and pharmaceutical and medicinal product manufacturing (-12.8 percent).
On a yearly basis, producer prices gained 0.7 percent, slowing from the 1.1 percent gain in Q4.
Domestic prices were up 0.2 percent on quarter and 0.4 percent on year, while imports were up 2.8 percent on quarter and 4.2 percent on year.
Intermediate demand producer prices fell 0.3 percent on quarter and 1.0 percent on year.
The decline was mainly due to falls in the prices received for oil and gas extraction (-23.2 percent) and petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing (-17.6 percent).
They were offset by rises in the prices received for grain, sheep, beef and dairy farming (+6.1 percent), other agricultural products (+5.5 percent) and textile, leather, clothing and footwear manufacturing (+4.5 percent).
Domestic prices were down 0.2 percent on quarter and 0.6 percent on year, while imports were down 0.7 percent on quarter and 4.1 percent on year.
Preliminary demand producer prices tumbled 0.8 percent on quarter and 2.3 percent on year.
The decline was mainly due to falls in the prices received for oil and gas extraction (-23.0 percent), petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing (-18.7 percent) and metal ore mining (-3.5 percent).
They were offset by rises in the prices received for grain, sheep, beef and dairy farming (+5.8 percent), coal mining (+8.6 percent) and computer and electronic equipment manufacturing (+6.4 percent).
Domestic prices were down 0.4 percent on quarter and 1.4 percent on year, while import prices dropped 3.1 percent on quarter and 7.5 percent on year.
Also on Friday, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in April, albeit at a slower pace, with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 48.0.
That’s up from 46.3 in March, although it remains below the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Among the individual components of the survey, exports, sales, new orders, employment, production, supplier deliveries and stock levels all were in contraction territory.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com