PPI steady at 6.6%

Cape Town – The annual percentage change in the producer price index (PPI) for final manufactured goods was 6.6% in October 2016, Statistics South Africa announced on Thursday, unchanged from September. From September 2016 to October 2016 the PPI for final manufactured goods increased by 0.9%.

The main contributors to the annual rate of 6.6 % were food products, beverages and tobacco products (4.0 percentage points) and metals, machinery, equipment and computing equipment (0.8 of a percentage point).

The contributors to the  monthly increase of 0.9% were food products, beverages and tobacco products  (0.4 of a percentage point), wood and paper products (0.2 of a percentage point) and coke, petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (0.2 of a percentage point).

The  annual percentage change in the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods was 6.2% in October 2016 (compared  with 6.8% in September 2016). From September 2016 to October 2016 the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods decreased by 0.6%.

The main contributors to the annual rate of 6.2% were basic and fabricated metals (2.2 percentage points), sawmilling and wood (1.8 percentage points) and chemicals, rubber and plastic products (1.4 percentage points).

The main contributors to the monthly decrease of 0.6% were chemicals, rubber and plastic products (0.4 of a percentage point) and basic and fabricated metals (0.3 of a percentage point).

The annual percentage change in the PPI for electricity and water was 8.5% in October 2016  (compared with 11.2% in September 2016). From September 2016 to October 2016 the PPI for electricity and water decreased by 4.8%.

The contributors to the annual rate of 8.5% were electricity (6.8 percentage points) and water (1.7 percentage points). The contributor to the monthly decrease of 4.8% was electricity (-4.8 percentage points).

The annual percentage change in the PPI for mining was 11.7% in October 2016 (compared with 16.2% in September 2016).
From September 2016 to October 2016 the PPI for mining decreased by 2.8%.

The annual percentage change in the PPI for agriculture, forestry and fishing was 11.1% in October 2016 (compared with 14.5% in September 2016). From September 2016 to October 2016 the PPI for agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased by 0.2%.

The unchanged figure caught analysts unawares: Deon Kohlmeyer of RMB Global Markets expected the October PPI to soften to about 6%, from September's 6.6%, while Adam Phillips of Umkhulu Consulting expected a yearly number of 6.10%.