Business Price Index: June 2017 quarter

This BPI release includes the June 2017 quarter PPI, CGPI, and FEPI data. Response rates for June 2017 quarter Key firms Achieved: 100 percent Target: 100 percent Non-key firms Achieved: 96.4 percent Target: 96 percent Commodity reviews implemented this quarter 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. In the June 2017 quarter, we implemented redeveloped commodity price indexes for the wood product manufacturing industry’s PPI. Exchange rates The New Zealand dollar depreciated against five key currencies (US dollar, UK pound, Australian dollar, Japanese yen and Euro), when comparing the mid-point of the June 2017 and March 2017 quarters. A depreciating NZ dollar has an upward 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 March 2017 quarter to the mid-point of the June 2017 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 February 2017 0.6989 0.5598 0.9123 79.64 0.6583 15 May 2017 0.6690 0.5186 0.9024 75.45 0.6094 Percentage change -4.3 -7.4 -1.1 -5.3 -7.4 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