Fuel leads the wholesale increase

Seasonally adjusted total wholesale trade sales increased 3.1 percent ($686 million) for the June 2008 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows a flat result for the March 2008 quarter, when sales were down 0.1 percent ($11 million). The leading contributor to the June quarter's increase was the rise in petroleum product wholesaling, up 15.9 percent ($317 million), which is likely to be due to higher global oil and fuel prices.

Other industries to record large increases were food and grocery product wholesaling, up 7.1 percent ($276 million), and metal and mineral wholesaling, up 29.5 percent ($236 million). The largest decrease was in builders' supplies wholesaling, down 3.7 percent ($68 million).

Seasonally adjusted wholesale stocks for the June 2008 quarter increased 6.2 percent ($676 million), following a 6.3 percent rise in the March 2008 quarter. This is the largest stock value increase since the series began in March 1995, and was largely influenced by higher petroleum product stocks, which contributed over three-quarters of the total stock increase.

The total wholesale trade sales trend continues to increase.