Producer prices up 4.9% in May

From April to May the PPI for final manufactured goods increased by just 0.3%.

From January this year‚ Stats SA published distinct PPIs to cover agriculture‚ mining‚ electricity and water‚ and manufacturing.

The PPI for final manufactured goods is now considered the "headline" PPI.

The PPI was forecast to increase by 5.2% y/y‚ a survey by I-Net Bridge found. Forecasts among nine leading economists surveyed ranged from 5.1% y/y to 5.6% y/y.

The main contributors to the annual rate of 4.9% were food products‚ beverages and tobacco products (6.1% y/y and contributing 2 percentage points) and coke‚ petroleum‚ chemical‚ rubber and plastic products (4.5% y/y and contributing 0.8 of a percentage point).

The main contributors to the monthly increase of 0.3% were food products‚ beverages and tobacco products (0.7% month-on-month and contributing 0.2 of a percentage point) and transport equipment (1.4% month-on-month and contributing 0.2 of a percentage point).

The annual percentage change in the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods was 7.8% in May, compared with 7.2% in April. Between April and May the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods increased by 0.9%.

Other indicators rise

The main contributors to the annual rate of 7.8% were chemicals‚ rubber and plastic products (6.3% y/y and contributing 2.6 percentage points) and basic and fabricated metals (7.0% y/y and contributing 2 percentage points).

The main contributor to the monthly increase of 0.9% was basic and fabricated metals (1.2% month-on-month and contributing 0.4 of a percentage point).

The annual percentage change in the PPI for electricity and water was 13.5% in May, compared with 12.9% in April while the PPI for electricity and water increased by 2.0%.

The contributors to the annual rate of 13.5% were electricity (14.0% y/y and contributing 11.6 percentage points) and water (11.5% y/y and contributing 2 percentage points).

The contributor to the monthly increase of 2.0% was electricity (2.5% month-on-month and contributing 2.1 percentage points).

The annual percentage change in the PPI for mining was 5.7% in May, compared with 4.5% in April. Between April and May the PPI for mining increased by 1.4%.

The main contributor to the annual rate of 5.7% was non-ferrous metal ores (9.5% y/y and contributing 4.3 percentage points). The main contributors to the monthly rate of 1.4% were gold and other metal ores (1.8% month-on-month and contributing 0.4 of a percentage point) and non-ferrous metal ores (1.1% month-on-month and contributing 0.5 of a percentage point).

The annual percentage change in the PPI for agriculture‚ forestry and fishing was 2.9% in May compared with 1.7% in April leading to a decrease in the PPI for agriculture‚ forestry and fishing of 0.2%.

The main contributor to the annual rate of 2.9% was agriculture (2.6% y/y and contributing 2 percentage points). The main contributor to the monthly rate of -0.2% was agriculture (-0.2% month-on-month and contributing -0.2 of a percentage point).