New Zealand: Inflation jumps to nearly 10-year high in Q2
Consumer prices soared 1.3% from the previous quarter in the second quarter, coming in above Q1’s 0.8% rise. Moreover, the reading surprised market expectations of a milder 0.7% increase and marked the fastest quarter-on-quarter increase since Q4 2010. In terms of specific categories, higher prices for home ownership, private transport supplies and services and fruit and vegetables drove the quarter-on-quarter surge in prices.
Meanwhile, inflation jumped to 3.3% in Q2 from 1.5% in Q1, logging the fastest print since Q4 2011 and breaching the Central Bank’s 1.0%-3.0% target band for the first time in close to 10 years.