NZ: CPI rose 0.5% in March quarter – Westpac

New Zealand’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.5% in the March quarter, while the annual inflation fell from 1.6% to 1.1%, notes Michael Gordon, Senior Economist at Westpac.

Key Quotes

“The 0.5% rise in consumer prices in the March quarter was right in line with our forecast, but a touch below the Reserve Bank’s expectation of a 0.6% rise. With a 1% jump in prices in the previous March quarter now dropping out of the calculation, this saw the annual inflation rate fall from 1.6% to just 1.1%.”

“Tradables inflation remains weak, due to a lack of global inflation pressures.”

“Non-tradables inflation has picked up from its lows, notwithstanding the drag from the partial removal of tertiary study fees this quarter. – But there is little impetus for inflation to reach the 2% midpoint of the Reserve Bank’s target on a sustained basis.”