Producers' input prices, as measured in the Producers Price Index (PPI), fell 2.5 percent and output prices fell 1.4 percent in the March 2009 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. Lower prices for imported crude oil and for fuel made major contributions to the fall in input prices, while lower prices in the dairy product manufacturing index drove down output prices. The 2.5 percent fall in the inputs index is the largest since the series began in the December 1977 quarter.
Lower prices for imported crude oil (a major input to fuel wholesaling) contributed to a 12.7 percent fall in the wholesale trade inputs index. The fall in the wholesale trade index followed an 11.7 percent fall in the December 2008 quarter and an 8.3 percent rise in the September 2008 quarter.
The air transport index (down 14.4 percent) also made a significant contribution to the overall fall in input prices. This fall is the largest since the series began in the December 1997 quarter and follows a 10.3 percent fall in the December 2008 quarter. Lower prices for aviation fuel were a major cause of the latest fall.
The dairy product manufacturing outputs index fell 24.3 percent in the March 2009 quarter, following a 19.2 percent rise in the December 2008 quarter. The latest fall is the largest since the series began in the June 1994 quarter. Lower export prices for dairy products such as skim milk powder, butter and cheese were the main drivers of the fall.
In the year to the March 2009 quarter, the PPI inputs index rose 4.7 percent and the outputs index rose 6.5 percent.
Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician |
18 May 2009 |
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See also the Hot Off The Press information release Producers Price Index: March 2009 quarter.
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