New Zealand’s inflation pulse picked up in the Q3, highlighting lingering price pressures that could restrain the RBNZ from cutting rates too aggressively. Headline CPI rose 1.0% qoq, above forecasts of 0.8% and sharply higher than 0.5% pace in Q2. On an annual basis, inflation climbed from 2.7% yoy to 3.0% yoy, matching expectations but reaching the top of the central bank’s target band and its highest level since mid-2024.
Much of the rebound came from tradeable prices, which rose 2.2% yoy versus 1.2% previously, suggesting imported cost pressures are resurfacing. By contrast, non-tradeable inflation eased slightly from 3.7% yoy to 3.5%, hinting at some moderation in domestic demand.
Even so, the composition of inflation is concerning: housing and utilities accounted for nearly one-third of the total rise in the annual CPI. Electricity prices jumped 11.3%, rents increased 2.6%, and local authority rates surged 8.8%.
With these three categories making up just 17% of the CPI basket, the data underline how sticky living costs have become. For the RBNZ, which only recently delivered an outsized 50bps rate cut to counter slowing growth, this renewed inflation uptick narrows its policy flexibility.
