South Africa’s producer price index (PPI) rose by 5,4% year-on-year (y/y) in March from a 5,5% y/y increase in February, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday.
The PPI rose 0,4% on a monthly basis after February’s monthly rise of 0,2%.
According to an I-Net Bridge survey of economists, the PPI was expected to have eased to 5,2% y/y. Forecasts of economists surveyed by I-Net Bridge ranged from 4,8% y/y to 5,5% y/y.
The average for 2005 was a producer inflation rate of 3,1% compared with an average of only 0,6% in 2004, 1,7% in 2003 and 14,2% in 2002.
The 2004 average was the lowest since 1959, when there was no change in producer prices. The lowest annual consumer inflation in the post-1945 period was also in 1959 at 1,1%.
Stats SA said the annual increase of 5,4% in the PPI for all commodities for South African consumption was due to annual increases in the price indices for locally produced commodities (+3,8 percentage points) and for imported commodities (+1,6 percentage points).
It said the lower annual rate at March 2006 compared with that at February 2006 could be explained by decreases in the annual rates of change in the production price indices for:
- Products of petroleum and coal, of which the rate decreased from +31,8% at February 2006 to +20,6% at March 2006.
- Mining and quarrying products, of which the rate decreased from +27,4% at February 2006 to +25,6% at March 2006.
- Transport equipment, of which the rate decreased from +2,2% at February 2006 to +2,1% at March 2006.
However, these decreases were partially counteracted by increases in the annual rates of change for:
- Food at manufacturing, of which the rate increased from +2,5% at February 2006 to +4,1% at March 2006.
- Forestry, of which the rate increased from +2,1% at February 2006 to +3,4% at March 2006.
- Non-electrical machinery and equipment, of which the rate increased from +0,6% at February 2006 to +1,3% at March 2006.
The monthly increase of 0,4% in the PPI for all commodities for South African consumption was due to a monthly increase in the price indices for locally produced commodities (+0,3 of a percentage point) and in the price indices for imported commodities (+0,1 of a percentage point).
Relatively large monthly increases occurred in the price indices for agricultural products (+2,8%), basic metals (+1,5%), forestry (+1,3%), food at manufacturing (+1,1%), mining and quarrying products (+0,7%) and textiles and made-up goods (+0,3%).
These monthly increases were counteracted by large monthly decreases in the price indices for office, accounting and computing machinery (-2,1%), electricity (-1,8%) and products of petroleum and coal (-1,4%). ‒ I-Net Bridge