In brief
Stats NZ reports that New Zealand household living costs rose 3 % in the year to September, easing from a 3.2 % increase in the previous quarter. Key contributors were a 19.1 % jump in petrol prices, 9.3 % rise in electricity costs and a 6.2 % increase in local authority rates, while falling interest payments helped keep overall inflation below the 3.7 % CPI. The RNZ National article echoes these figures and highlights the impact on different household groups.
Statistical data released on Friday by Stats NZ shows that New Zealand household living costs rose 3 percent in the year to the September quarter, a small easing from the 3.2‑percent rise recorded in the year to the June quarter. The increase was largely driven by a 19.1‑percent rise in petrol prices, which accounted for almost a quarter of the rise in average annual household costs, the agency’s statistics showed.
Other price components also contributed: electricity prices rose 9.3 percent over the year, and local authority rates increased 6.2 percent. The statistical agency noted that superannuitant households – those receiving the government retirement pension – recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 4 percent, whereas higher‑spending households experienced the lowest rate at 2.5 percent.
Consumer price index (CPI) inflation for the same period was 3.7 percent, down from 4.1 percent in the year to the previous quarter, Stats NZ said. It added that falling interest payments helped keep household living‑cost inflation below the CPI rate, with interest payments for the average household declining around 10 percent over the year.
International airfares also climbed, rising 12.5 percent during the period, mainly due to higher fares to Europe and Asia, the agency said.
RNZ National’s analysis of the same Stats NZ data reported that the average household cost increase of 3 percent was a modest decline from the 3.2 percent rate in the June year‑ended quarter. It highlighted the same key drivers – especially higher petrol prices – and noted that the rise in living costs would impact many New Zealanders, citing the increased outlay on fuel as a significant burden on household budgets.