Producer prices rose 0.5% in Dec qtr

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the official producer price index for the December quarter.

Producer prices rose 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, confirming the message of weak consumer price inflation data earlier in the week.

The annual rate of inflation by this measure rose to 0.7 per cent, from 0.5 per cent over the year to the September quarter, according to the the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

The producer price index for final demand measures the price of final products at the factory door or farm gate so, unlike the consumer price index, does not include trade margins, transport costs or taxes on production.