Australia’s producer prices rise in Q4 2016

Australia’s prices continue to remain weak, showed the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Australia’s producer price index was up 0.5 percent sequentially, as compared with the prior reading of 0.3 percent. It was in line with consensus expectations. On a year-on-year basis, price change for goods and services produced in the Australian economy rose 0.7 percent in the December quarter, as compared with the previous quarter’s reading of 0.5 percent rise.

In sequential terms, the most considerable price rises in the fourth quarter was seen in building construction, petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing and accommodation, which rose 0.7 percent, 12.5 percent and 5.3 percent respectively. On the other hand prices dropped 1.5 percent in electronic equipment manufacturing and fell 2.1 percent in professional and scientific equipment manufacturing.

Rises in prices of materials used for construction remained weak, stated ABS. The inputs to the house construction index registered a rise of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter. The combination of small rises in material costs and record low rises in the Wage Price Index is also restraining residential construction output prices.

At 07:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Australian Dollar was slightly bearish at -65.1891, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was highly bullish at 139.04. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex