WELLINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual inflation reached 3 percent in the year to the September 2025 quarter, following a 2.7-percent increase in the year to the June 2025 quarter, Stats NZ reported Monday.
This met the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's 1-3 percent target band for the annual inflation rate, according to a statement of the statistics department.
"The 3.0 percent annual inflation rate in the September 2025 quarter is the highest since the June 2024 quarter, when it was 3.3 percent," Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden said.
The largest contributors to the annual inflation rate were all in the housing and household utilities group, led by power, rent, and local authority rates, with the top three contributors making up around 17 percent of the weight in the basket of New Zealand's consumer price index, Stats NZ said.
Electricity prices jumped 11.3 percent over the year, the largest annual gain since the March 1989 quarter when they rose 12.8 percent, statistics show.
"Annual electricity increases are at their highest since the late 1980s, when there were several major reforms in the electricity market," Growden said.
Prices fell over the year for pharmaceuticals, telecoms equipment, and petrol, helping offset some cost pressures, Stats NZ said.
On a quarterly basis, consumer prices rose 1 percent in the September 2025 quarter, compared with the June 2025 quarter, driven largely by higher local authority rates and a 12.2-percent increase in vegetable prices due to seasonal factors, it said.
Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop said expectations are for inflation to drop towards 2 percent in the first half of 2026, easing pressure on households and businesses. ■
