Consumer prices in New Zealand advanced 0.4 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2016, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.
That exceeded forecasts for 0.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the third quarter.
"Higher prices for petrol, air fares, and new house builds were partly offset by lower prices for food and furniture," prices senior manager Jason Attewell said.
Petrol prices made the largest upward contribution for the quarter, up 4.1 percent. The average price of a liter of 91 octane petrol in the December 2016 quarter was NZ$1.82, up from NZ$1.75 in the September quarter.
Food prices fell 1.2 percent in the latest quarter, with seasonally lower fruit and vegetable prices being partly offset by higher prices for dairy products.
On a yearly basis, inflation climbed 1.3 percent - also topping expectations for 1.2 percent and up sharply from 0.4 percent in the three months prior.
"This is the first time in over two years that price increases for household purchases have been over 1 percent," Attewell said. "Household price inflation is up from a historical low of 0.1 percent for the December 2015 year."
Prices for tradable goods and services were 0.1 percent lower in Q4. Despite higher quarterly prices, petrol and international airfares were cheaper than a year ago. Non-tradable goods and services showed a 2.4 percent increase, influenced by housing-related price increases.
Housing-related prices continued to increase, up 3.3 percent in the December 2016 year. Prices increased for newly built houses excluding land (up 6.5 percent) and for housing rentals (up 2.0 percent).
"Housing-related prices in Auckland increased more than the national average, with new houses up 8.2 percent and rents up 3.2 percent from a year earlier," Attewell said.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.