WELLINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual inflation held steady at 3.1 percent in the March 2026 quarter, Stats NZ reported Tuesday.
The annual rate was unchanged from the previous quarter, remaining just above the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's 1-3 percent target band, said the statistics department.
Electricity prices, up 12.5 percent over the year, were the largest contributor to the annual inflation rate, marking the third consecutive quarter they led inflationary pressures, it said.
Local authority rates and payments, up 8.8 percent, and meat and poultry, up 8.6 percent, also drove the rise. Rent increased 1.2 percent, its slowest annual growth in 16 years, figures showed.
On a quarterly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent in the March 2026 quarter, with petrol prices the biggest contributor, increasing 3.5 percent despite earlier declines in January and February, Stats NZ said.
Higher pharmaceutical costs, linked to a reset in prescription subsidies, also boosted prices.
Excluding petrol, the CPI rose 0.8 percent in the March 2026 quarter, the department noted. ■
