New Zealand Inflation Climbs to Two-and-a-Half-Year High in Q2
- brg_news_room
- 4 days ago
- 1 min read
New Zealand: New Zealand's annual inflation rose to 4.1% in the second quarter, its highest level in two and a half years, exceeding both market expectations of 4.0% and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's forecast of 3.9%. Quarterly consumer prices increased by 1.5%, compared with economists' expectations of 1.4%. Following the data release, expectations strengthened that the central bank could raise its official cash rate at its September meeting after increasing it to 2.50% earlier this month.
Higher fuel prices were the main contributor to inflation, with petrol prices increasing by 27.5% and diesel prices by 71.1% over the year, according to Statistics New Zealand. The agency estimated that annual inflation would have been 2.9% in the absence of changes in petrol and diesel prices. Meanwhile, annual non-tradeable inflation eased to 3.4%, its lowest level in five years, indicating some moderation in domestic price pressures despite the overall increase in headline inflation.
Source: Reuters
