Prices received by New Zealand producers rebounded in the June quarter amid a surge in electricity costs, data from Statistics New Zealand showed Friday.
The output producer price index (PPI) gained 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the June quarter following a 0.1 percent decline in the March quarter. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent fall.
The input PPI, representing the prices of goods and services used by New Zealand producers, rose 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter following 0.3 percent rise in the March quarter.
"Higher electricity prices were the largest contributor to both the output and input PPI rises in the June 2012 quarter," Statistics New Zealand prices manager Chris Pike said.
The output price index for the electricity and gas supply industry rose 10.7 percent and the input price index for the component rose 8.2 percent. These increases were mainly due to lower hydro-storage levels, Pike said.
The statistical office said that a rise in imported crude oil prices and increased refining fees pushed up the input costs for the petroleum and coal product manufacturing industry by 7.5 percent. This was the second-biggest contributor to overall PPI.
Meanwhile, lower farm-gate milk prices put some downward pressure on the overall PPI movement during the period. The output price index for dairy cattle farmers fell 6.9 percent from the March quarter, and the input price index for dairy product manufacturing was down 4.7 percent.
In the year to the June quarter, the output PPI rose 0.5 percent, while the input PPI increased 1.9 percent.
Annually, output prices of electricity and gas supply increased 27.3 percent while the input price index for the group was up 34.5 percent. These are the highest annual increases since the year to the June 2008 quarter, according to the statistical office.
by RTT Staff Writer
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