The consumers price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent in the June 2015 quarter, following falls of 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent in the March 2015 and December 2014 quarters, Statistics New Zealand said today.
“The main impact came from higher petrol prices, which were up 8.8 percent in the June quarter. Without petrol, the CPI was flat for the quarter," prices manager Chris Pike said.
The average price of a litre of 91 octane petrol in the June 2015 quarter was $1.95, compared with $1.79 in the March quarter. By the end of the June quarter, petrol pump prices were 4.1 percent above the average price for that quarter.
Prices for the housing and household utilities group rose 0.7 percent for the latest quarter. Prices for newly built houses excluding land were up 1.5 percent nationally (2.8 percent in Auckland, and 0.7 percent in Canterbury). Housing rental prices rose 0.6 percent, with Auckland prices up 0.8 percent and Canterbury up 0.7 percent.
These price rises were partly offset by lower prices for domestic airfares (down 13 percent) following price rises in the previous two quarters. Domestic airfares were down 3.0 percent from a year earlier. Telecommunication services also fell for the June quarter (down 1.9 percent).
Annual prices rise 0.3 percent
The CPI increased 0.3 percent in the year to the June 2015 quarter, following a 0.1 percent increase in the year to the March 2015 quarter.
The prices of tradable goods and services (which face foreign competition) decreased 2.0 percent in the year, with lower prices for petrol (down 7.4 percent) and for international airfares (down 6.3 percent).
Non-tradable goods and services increased 2.0 percent, the smallest annual increase since the December 2001 quarter. The main contributor was cigarettes and tobacco prices (up 14 percent), influenced by the increase in excise duty in January 2015 – excluding cigarettes and tobacco, the CPI fell 0.1 percent in the year to the June 2015 quarter.
Housing and household utility prices were up 2.5 percent in the year, with higher prices for newly built houses excluding land (up 5.3 percent), housing rentals (up 2.3 percent), and local authority rates (up 3.9 percent).
In the year to the June 2015 quarter, prices for newly built houses excluding land rose 7.6 percent in Auckland, and rose 4.0 percent in Canterbury. Housing rentals rose 2.9 percent in Auckland, and 3.5 percent in Canterbury.
The CPI measures the rate of price change of goods and services purchased by New Zealand households.