Prices flat for most capital good

The capital goods price index (CGPI) remained relatively flat in the March 2011 quarter, recording a slight rise of 0.2 percent, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The CGPI measures the change in the price of capital goods purchased by New Zealand producers of goods and services, such as businesses, government, and households.

The price levels for most types of capital goods have continued to show little movement since 2009, as the economic recession that followed the international financial crisis subdued the steady inflation seen in the index between 1999 and 2008. The exception has been prices for civil construction, which continued on an upward path right up to the latest quarter. Civil construction prices associated with infrastructure projects, such as roading, rose 1.2 percent in the March 2011 quarter and 2.6 percent on an annual basis.

Prices relating to the construction of non-residential buildings continued to be flat, moving up only 0.1 percent in the March 2011 quarter. Prices for the construction of residential buildings also remained flat, with a slight increase of 0.1 percent for the latest quarter and 0.6 percent when compared with the previous March quarter.

In the year to the March 2011 quarter, the overall CGPI decreased 0.1 percent.  

Geoff Bascand 18 May 2011

Government Statistician