New Zealand's household living costs up 6.2 pct

The cost of living for the average New Zealand household increased 6.2 percent in the 12 months to the March 2024 quarter, which followed a 7 percent increase in the 12 months to the December 2023 quarter, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Monday.

The most recent high was 8.2 percent recorded in the 12 months to the December 2022 quarter, as measured by the household living-costs price indexes (HLPIs), which gauge how inflation affects 13 different household groups, plus the average household, on a quarterly basis.

In contrast, the consumer price index (CPI) measures how inflation affects New Zealand as a whole, Stats NZ said, adding a key use of the CPI in New Zealand is for monetary policy, while the HLPIs provide insight into the cost of living for different household groups.

Inflation, as measured by the CPI, was 4 percent in the 12 months to the March 2024 quarter, following a 4.7 percent increase in the 12 months to the December 2023 quarter, it said, adding the most recent high was 7.3 percent recorded in the 12 months to the June 2022 quarter.

The HLPIs include interest payments, while the CPI includes the cost of building a new home, Stats NZ said.

"For many households, interest payments have made a significant contribution to living costs," Stats NZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell said, adding this reflects mortgage interest rates remaining high relative to 2021.

Interest payments increased 28 percent in the 12 months to the March 2024 quarter. The cost of building a new home increased 3.3 percent in the same period, Mitchell said.

Other contributors to living costs for most household groups were rent, private transport supplies and services, such as petrol, and insurance, he said.