The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today released Producer Price Index (PPI) data for the March quarter, which registered a 0.5% quarterly increase in final (stage 3) prices and an increase of only 0.7% over the year:
The 0.5% increase in final (stage 3) prices was driven primarily by increases in the prices received for computer and electronic equipment manufacturing (+7.5%), building construction (+0.8%) and other transport equipment manufacturing (+7.4%), partly offset by falls in the prices received for petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing (–17.0%) and pharmaceutical and medicinal product manufacturing (–12.8%).
