2017.11.1617:16:00UTC+00New Zealand Q3 Producer Price Output Rises 1.0%

The output producer price index in New Zealand advanced 1.0 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2017, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday.

That followed the 1.3 percent increase in the previous three months.

The input producer price index also advanced 1.0 percent on quarter, slowing from 1.4 percent in the three months prior.

PPI outputs were up mainly due to electricity prices and dairy cattle farming, the bureau said, while PPI inputs were up mainly due to dairy product manufacturing and electricity prices.

"The drier winter has meant lower-than-usual lake levels for many of the country's hydroelectric power stations, which pushed up electricity generation costs," business prices manager Sarah Williams said.

Electricity and gas producers saw their costs of production (input costs) rise 5.9 percent in the latest quarter, mostly due to higher electricity generation costs. In turn, they passed on a 5.3 percent rise in their output prices. Electricity prices paid by commercial businesses rose 6.8 percent in the September 2017 quarter.

In the latest quarter, the prices received by dairy cattle farmers rose 6.1 percent, the sixth quarter in a row they have increased; the prices paid by dairy product manufacturers rose 5.1 percent.

Both price rises were influenced by higher forecasted farm-gate milk prices. An increase in sheep livestock prices (up 12 percent) influenced the input prices paid by meat and meat product manufacturers (up 4.8 percent).

In the year ended September 2017, output and input producers prices rose 5.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

The capital goods price index increased 2.9 percent in the year ended September 2017, mainly influenced by residential buildings (up 5.1 percent) and non-residential buildings (up 5.2 percent). The farm expenses price index increased 1.6 percent in the year.