New Zealand's quarterly inflation rising steadily: statistics

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, July 27, 2021
Adjust font size:

WELLINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Higher prices for transport and food have driven up inflation for the all-households group in the June 2021 quarter, New Zealand's statistics department Stats NZ said on Tuesday.

The "all households group" represents all private New Zealand-resident households, according to Stats NZ.

Inflation for the all-households group, as measured by the household living-costs price indexes (HLPIs), increased by 1.1 percent in the June 2021 quarter.

Each quarter, the HLPIs calculate how inflation affects 13 different groups, while the Consumers Price Index (CPI) calculates how inflation affects New Zealand as a whole, Stats NZ said, adding the CPI is primarily used for monetary policy, while HLPI measures cost of living.

In the June 2021 quarter, all 13 groups experienced inflation of between 1 and 1.2 percent, it said.

Transport prices were up 2.8 percent for the all-households group in the June 2021 quarter, mainly influenced by higher petrol prices. This affected low- to middle-spending groups the most. Transport prices were up 3.1 percent for the lowest-spending group compared with 2.3 percent for the highest-spending group, statistics show.

"Low- to middle-spending groups typically spend a larger proportion of their expenditure on petrol and public transport," consumers prices manager Matthew Stansfield said in a statement.

Food prices were up 1.5 percent for the all-households group in the June 2021 quarter, mainly influenced by higher prices for vegetables, Stansfield said.

Annual inflation for beneficiaries increased most out of all the groups, increasing 3 percent in the year ended June 2021, mainly influenced by higher prices for housing and household utilities, he said.

"On average, beneficiary households spend almost a third of their income on rent, so rising rents have a bigger impact on beneficiary households than for the other household groups," Stansfield said.

Annual inflation for the all-households group was up 2.5 percent in the year to June 2021, the largest annual increase since September 2011. This increase was mainly influenced by higher prices for private transport supplies and services, and actual rentals for housing, according to Stats NZ.

"A year ago, in the June 2020 quarter, we saw lower petrol prices and also many public transport services being free around the country during the COVID-19 lockdown," Stansfield said.

Transport prices have increased 11 percent for the all-households group, while transport prices for the highest-spending households increased 8.6 percent compared with 12 percent for the lowest-spending households, he said. Enditem

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
ChinaNews App Download
Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Enter the words you see:   
    Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter