New Zealand: Inflation accelerates on higher fuel and housing costs in Q2
Consumer prices increased 0.6% in Q2 2019 over the previous quarter, up notably from Q1 0.1% uptick, according to Statistics New Zealand. The print showed that a notable rebound in petrol prices was behind the acceleration, which was also fueled by faster quarter-on-quarter increases in prices for clothing and footwear, and by a bounce back in prices for transport, and for household contents and services. On the other hand, softer price increases were recorded for the food, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco groups, while the fall in prices for communication intensified.
In a similar fashion, inflation rose to 1.7% in Q2 on higher fuel and housing costs, following Q1’s 1.5%, and thus moving closer to the Central Bank’s 2.0% target.