New Zealand inflation slowed less than economists expected in the second quarter even as a fall in the cost of petrol and the central bank’s aggressive interest-rate hikes reduced price pressures.
The annual inflation rate fell to 6% from 6.7% in the first quarter, Statistics New Zealand said Wednesday in Wellington. Economists expected 5.9% while the Reserve Bank had forecast 6.1%. Consumer prices advanced 1.1% from three months earlier, more than the 0.9% median estimate.
The RBNZ’s 525 basis points of hikes since October 2021, the most aggressive tightening since the Official Cash Rate was introduced in 1999, has stalled the economy as households rein in spending. The bank, which last week held the OCR at 5.5%, has indicated it’s done enough to return inflation to its 1-3% target range over the coming year.
The New Zealand dollar rose after the inflation report. It bought 63.12 US cents at 10:48 a.m. in Wellington, up from 62.86 cents beforehand.
