New Zealand Q1 Inflation Stays at 1-1/2-Year High

2026-04-20 22:49 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

Annual inflation in New Zealand stood at 3.1% in Q1 2026, unchanged from Q4’s 1.5-year high and above forecasts of 2.9%, surpassing the RBNZ’s 1–3% target range.

The largest contributors were in the housing and household utilities group, which rose 3.4%, mainly driven by electricity prices (up 12.5%) and local authority rates and payments (up 8.8%).

Upward price pressures also came from food (4.0% vs 4.3%), mainly due to higher meat and poultry prices.

Transport inflation accelerated (3.3% vs 2.6%), largely driven by increases in private transport supplies and services.

Meanwhile, faster inflation was also seen in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (2.8% vs 2.4%), health (4.1% vs 0.7%), and miscellaneous (2.2% vs 2.1%), while it moderated in clothing (1.3% vs 1.7%), communication (4.6% vs 4.8%), and recreation and culture (2.2% vs 3.2%).

Education inflation was steady at 2.5%.

On a quarterly basis, the CPI increased by 0.9% in Q1, accelerating from a 0.6% rise in the previous quarter.



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New Zealand Q1 Inflation Stays at 1-1/2-Year High
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