Photo: Getty ImagesNew inflation data shows prices rose even more than many expected in the June quarter. The Consumer Price Index was up 3.3 per cent year - the market had forecast 2.7 per cent. "Previously, annual inflation had peaked at 5.3 percent in June 2011, impacted by a GST increase of 2.5 percentage points that came into effect in October 2010". "Before this, annual inflation reached 5.1 percent in the September 2008 quarter, during the time of the global financial crisis". The spike takes annual inflation outside the Reserve BAnk's 1-3 per cent target range and is likely to put more upward pressure on interest rates.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 15, 2021 23:03 UTC