In the latest consumer price report, the New Zealand government’s Stats NZ agency announced that average household living costs rose 3 percent in the year to the September 2026 quarter, easing from a 3.2‑percent rise in the June quarter, according to a Xinhua news release from 30 October 2026.
Stats NZ said the increase was mainly driven by a 19.1‑percent jump in petrol prices, which accounted for almost one quarter of the rise in average annual living costs, and it added that electricity prices rose 9.3 percent while local authority rates increased 6.2 percent. Superannuitant households recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 4 percent, whereas higher‑spending households saw the lowest rate at 2.5 percent.
Overall consumer price index inflation was 3.7 percent in the year to the September quarter, down from 4.1 percent in the previous quarter, and Stats NZ noted that falling interest payments – down roughly 10 percent on average – helped keep household living‑cost inflation below the CPI. International airfares rose 12.5 percent during the period, mainly due to higher fares to Europe and Asia.
Mirage News also reported a 3.0 ‑ percent increase in household living costs for the 12 months to the September 2026 quarter, confirming the figures released by Stats NZ, although it did not detail the drivers of the rise.
Radio New Zealand cited the same Stats NZ data, noting that the 3 percent rise represented an easing from the 3.2 percent rate in the year to the June quarter, and highlighted that higher petrol prices were a key factor in the inflation spike.
