WELLINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand household living costs rose 2.1 percent in the year to the March 2026 quarter, remaining below the country's headline inflation rate, Stats NZ reported Wednesday.
The increase, measured by the household living-costs price indexes, followed a 2.2-percent rise in the previous quarter. By comparison, annual consumer price inflation (CPI) held at 3.1 percent, said the statistics department.
"Falling interest payments for households was the main reason for the lower increase in the cost of living compared to New Zealand's overall inflation rate," Stats NZ prices and deflators spokesperson Nicola Growden said.
Interest payments went down nearly 20 percent over the past year, while the cost of building a new home increased 1 percent over the same period, Growden said.
Falling interest payments kept household living costs below CPI for a fourth straight quarter, with the largest annual drop in 18 years, Stats NZ said.
Mortgage interest payments fell 20.9 percent, delivering the greatest relief to the highest-spending households, which recorded the lowest annual inflation rate of all household groups at 0.7 percent, it said.
In the March quarter, the household living costs price index rose 0.8 percent, driven by higher petrol, pharmaceutical and electricity prices, the department said, adding that petrol prices climbed 3.5 percent, while pharmaceutical costs surged 17.7 percent following a reset of prescription subsidies, and electricity prices rose 2.6 percent.
Declines in mortgage interest, international airfares and overseas accommodation helped offset some of the increases, noted Stats NZ. ■
