The consumers price index (CPI) was steady at 2.2% year-on-year in the December 2024 quarter with annual vehicle spending down 3.9%, according to Stats NZ.
The 2.2% annual increase follows a 2.2% annual increase in the September 2024 quarter.
On a quarterly basis, second-hand cars were up 4.7% in the December 2024 quarter compared with the September 2024 quarter.
Overall, it’s the second consecutive quarter that the annual inflation rate has been within the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target band of 1% to 3%.
“Prices are still rising, but not as much as previously recorded. The most recent peak was in the June 2022 quarter when the annual inflation rate reached 7.3 percent,” prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden says.
The largest contributor to the annual inflation rate was rent, up 4.2%.
Lower petrol prices, down 9.2%, helped offset rising prices. This included removal of the Auckland regional fuel tax of 10 cents per litre plus GST on June 30, 2024.
“Petrol makes up about 4% of the CPI basket. Its price fall made a significant contribution to the slower increase in the annual inflation rate in December 2024,” Growden says.
Between the December 2023 and December 2024 quarters, the weighted average price of 1 litre of 91 octane petrol fell 26 cents from $2.81 to $2.55.
“If petrol was excluded, the CPI would have increased 2.7% in the 12 months to December 2024.”
