Output prices for New Zealand producers fell in the fourth quarter, led by dairy product manufacturing, dairy cattle farming and petroleum while farm input prices also fell.
The output producers price index fell 0.8% in the final three months of 2015, for an annual decline of 0.6%, while the input PPI fell 1.2% in the quarter, and 1.1% in the year, says Statistics New Zealand.
The prices dairy product manufacturers receive fell 10% in the fourth quarter, reflecting lower prices for milk powder, cheese and butter, while prices for dairy cattle farming outputs fell 9.2%. Input prices for dairy manufacturers declined 7.1%, reflecting lower farm-gate milk prices.
BusinessDesk says weakness in these prices is indicative of a global market where increased production from Europe has resulted in a plentiful supply of dairy products.
It reports that prices fell in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, sliding for the fourth consecutive time in 2016, as concern about worldwide oversupply weighs on sentiment.
Petroleum and coal manufacturing output prices fell 10% and inputs declined 22%, reflecting lower prices for crude oil, petrol and diesel, according to Statistics New Zealand.
It says that Brent crude oil has tumbled 39% since mid-2014, to trade recently at US$34.85 a barrel.
Output prices in the construction industry rose 0.4% in the quarter, while input prices fell 0.3%, mainly reflecting lower fuel costs says Statistics New Zealand.
It says prices for capital goods rose 0.6% in the quarter and 3.2% in the year while prices paid by consumers fell 0.5%, for an annual gain of just 0.1%.
