Inflation drops to 0.2 per cent

Average prices across the country have increased by 0.2 per cent in the last year. File Photo.

New Zealand's rate of inflation was 0.2 per cent in the year to the September 2016 quarter, according to latest Statistics NZ data.

This compares with 0.4 per cent annually for both the June and March 2016 quarters, and the 16-year low of 0.1 per cent in the year to December 2015.

Consumer prices manager Matt Haigh says higher housing-related prices were countered by lower transportation prices.

'Petrol prices in the September 2016 quarter were 11 per cent lower than a year ago,” says Matt.

Housing-related prices continued to be the main upward contributor, up 3.2 per cent in the year.

This increase was influenced by higher prices for purchase of new housing, excluding land (up 6.3 per cent), and rentals for housing (up 2.1 per cent). Property maintenance prices, such as painting and plumbing, have also increased steadily throughout the year and are now 3.1 per cent higher than a year ago.

Transport prices made the largest downward contribution for the year, down 6.7 per cent as prices for petrol and vehicle relicensing fell.

Excluding petrol, the consumer price index showed a 0.8 per cent increase in the year to the September 2016 quarter.

The CPI measures the rate of price change of goods and services purchased by New Zealand households.

For more information, including an interactive CPI visualisation, visit: www.stats.govt.nz/datavisualisation/cpi.html

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1 comment

Bah Hum Bug ...

Posted on 19-10-2016 15:29 | By chancer

if we have 0.2% inflation how come Ciabatta single buns increased from 50c each to 65c each over the period of 7 days - thats 30%. And the price of groceries isn't increasing YEAH RIGHT !!


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