WELLINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's annual inflation rate rose to 2.5 percent in March 2025, up from 2.2 percent in December 2024, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.

This marked the third consecutive quarter inflation within the Reserve Bank's 1-3 percent target band, after exceeding it from June 2021 to June 2024, Stats NZ said.

Housing-related costs were the biggest contributors to the annual rise, it said, adding rent increased 3.7 percent, contributing 14 percent to the overall figure, its lowest annual growth since 2021, but still significant due to its heavy weighting in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Local authority rates and payments jumped 12.2 percent, also contributing 14 percent to the annual inflation, while construction prices rose 1.9 percent, accounting for 7 percent of the annual inflation rate, the statistics showed.

Falling petrol prices helped offset some of upward pressure. Petrol dropped 2.8 percent year-on-year, driven in part by a 5.8 percent decrease in Auckland following the removal of regional fuel tax on June 30, 2024, Stats NZ said.

Only 24 percent of the CPI basket saw price increases of 5 percent or more, the lowest proportion in four years, though still above pre-pandemic levels, said Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden.

Quarterly, the CPI rose 0.9 percent, driven by education costs surge after the first-year Fees Free scheme ended in 2024, Growden said. Enditem

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