| Cost of living rising fast in New Zealand |
| Date: 2010/10/20 Click: 1749 |
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The cost of living in New Zealand rose at its fastest quarterly rate in more than two years in the third quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday.
The Consumers Price Index rose 1.1 percent in the third quarter this year, compared to an increase of 0.2 percent in the preceding three months.
Statistics New Zealand said the biggest contributions to rising prices came from food and household utilities, such as rates and electricity.
Electricity rose 2.8 percent during the quarter. Statistics NZ noted that a quarter of the increase came from power companies charging higher GST on electricity consumed in September, but invoiced in October.
Annual inflation fell for the second consecutive quarter to 1.5 percent, below the peak of 5.1 percent two years ago and below the mid point of the Reserve Bank's target band of 1 percent to 3 percent. |
