KEY POINTS:
Prices for capital goods rose 0.4 per cent in the June quarter mainly due to higher construction prices for new houses, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) says.
That follows a rise of 0.3 per cent in the March quarter. For the year to the June quarter, the capital goods price index (CGPI) rose 2.8 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent in the year to June 2006.
The residential buildings index rose 1.4 per cent in the June 2007 quarter, with higher construction prices for new houses the main reason, driven by the high cost of construction components and increased subcontractors' charges.
In the year to the June quarter, the residential buildings index rose 5.1 per cent, SNZ said.
The other construction index rose 0.4 per cent in the June quarter, driven by higher costs for the construction of water supply systems, mainly due to higher costs of aluminium tubes and pipes.
In the year to the June 2007 quarter, the other construction index rose 3.1 per cent compared with 5.8 per cent in the year to the June 2006 quarter.
The plant, machinery and equipment index fell 0.4 per cent, producing the main downward effect on the CGPI this quarter. It was the first quarterly fall for the index since the December 2005 quarter.
Prices fell for other special purpose machinery, particularly printing machinery, partly due to the appreciation of the New Zealand dollar in the June quarter.
- NZPA
