BPI data collection September 2020

This BPI release includes the September 2020 quarter PPI, CGPI, and FEPI data. Response rates for September 2020 quarter Key firms Achieved: 99.4 percent Target: 100 percent Non-key firms Achieved: 96.2 percent Target: 96 percent Commodity review We are continuing our rolling review of the business price indexes. The review has two objectives: to maintain the relevance of these indexes and to collect commodity data for use in the national accounts. We are surveying a sample of economically significant enterprises operating in New Zealand, to collect information on their supply and use of goods and services (commodities). We use this commodity information (by industry) to update lower-level weights for the business price indexes. We use these indexes as deflators in producing a chain-volume measure of GDP. Exchange rates The New Zealand dollar appreciated against three key currencies (US dollar, UK pound, Japanese yen) when comparing the mid-point of the September 2020 and June 2020 quarters. An appreciating NZ dollar has a downward influence on the prices New Zealand producers pay for imported goods and services, and the prices received for exports. When calculating the PPI and CGPI, we generally use prices collected on the 15th day of the middle month in the quarter to represent the entire quarter. When these prices are collected in foreign currencies, they are converted to NZ dollars using the exchange rate at the mid-point of the quarter. The table below shows changes in the value of the NZ dollar in foreign currency denominations, from the mid-point of the June 2020 quarter to the mid-point of the September 2020 quarter. Exchange rates Bank selling rates for NZ$1.00 USA (NZ$:US$) UK (NZ$:pound) Australia (NZ$:AUS$) Japan (NZ$:yen) Europe (NZ$:euro) 15 May 2020 0.5876 0.4807 0.9099 63.0574 0.5444 15 August 2020 0.6417 0.4916 0.8984 68.6268 0.5435 Percentage change 9.2 2.3 -1.3 8.8 -0.2 Source: Westpac Banking Corporation For a limited number of prices (e.g. petroleum product manufacturing) we use quarterly average prices. For these prices, the relevant exchange-rate movements are based on the average exchange rate for the quarter. en-NZ