Petrol fuels the CPI

Embargoed until 10:45am – 16 July 2007

Petrol fuels the CPI

The Consumers Price Index (CPI) increased 1.0 percent in the June 2007 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. Petrol prices made the most significant upward contribution to the CPI this quarter.

Transport prices were up 2.4 percent in the June 2007 quarter. The main contribution came from petrol prices increasing 8.0 percent. If petrol prices had not changed from the March 2007 quarter to the June 2007 quarter, the CPI would have increased by 0.6 percent.

Housing and household utilities prices were up 1.3 percent in the June 2007 quarter, mainly due to price increases for electricity (up 3.0 percent) and the purchase of new housing (up 1.6 percent).

Prices for recreation and culture decreased 0.8 percent in the June 2007 quarter, with the main contributions coming from price decreases in package holidays (down 8.9 percent) and audio-visual equipment (down 5.9 percent).

Of the remaining eight groups, seven recorded increases: health (up 1.9 percent), food (up 0.5 percent), household contents and services (up 1.2 percent), miscellaneous goods and services (up 0.8 percent), clothing and footwear (up 0.9 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 0.3 percent) and communication (up 0.4 percent). Education recorded a fall, decreasing 0.2 percent.

For the year to the June 2007 quarter, the CPI increased 2.0 percent, following a rise of 2.5 percent for the year to the March 2007 quarter. The groups that made the most significant upward contributions were housing and household utilities (up 5.2 percent) and food (up 4.1 percent). The largest downward contribution came from the transport group, which decreased 3.0 percent.

Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician

ENDS

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