Producer price output in New Zealand fell 0.9 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2015, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday – missing forecasts for a decline of 0.8 percent after easing 0.1 percent in the previous three months.
Producer price input dropped 1.1 percent on quarter after losing 0.4 percent in the three months prior.
“Producers benefited from lower petrol and diesel prices. Lower fuel prices helped to lower input prices in many primary industries, and in construction and transport,” prices manager Chris Pike said.
Output prices for the petroleum and coal product manufacturing industry fell 19 percent in the first quarter. This is the biggest quarterly fall since a 20 percent fall in the December 2008 quarter when fuel prices also fell sharply.
Sheep, beef, and grain farmers received lower prices in the March 2015 quarter (down 11 percent), influenced by drought conditions and higher slaughter levels, the bureau said. The prices received by meat and meat product manufacturers fell 2.4 percent.
Dairy cattle farmers received lower prices (down 4.6 percent), due to a further fall in the farm-gate milk price, reflecting volatility in international dairy commodity prices caused by over-supply in the market. Prices received by dairy product manufacturers fell 5.2 percent, reflecting lower prices for dairy exports.
In contrast, producers in the construction industry received higher prices (up 0.6 percent) in Q1, influenced by the prices for constructing new residential buildings (up 0.8 percent), as measured by the capital goods price index (CGPI), which was up 0.6 percent overall.
On a yearly basis, PPI output shed 2.5 percent after losing 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter, while PPI inputs tumbled 4.0 percent after falling 1.9 percent in the previous three months.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com