New Zealand’s consumer price inflation picked up in the first quarter of 2026, with the CPI rising 0.9% quarter-over-quarter, up from a 0.6% increase in the previous quarter. The fresh data, updated on 20 April 2026, show an acceleration in price growth compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, when CPI had also advanced but at a more moderate pace.
On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the latest reading indicates that price pressures have strengthened at the start of 2026. The “actual” figure reflects the change in prices from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026, while the “previous” figure captures the change from the third to the fourth quarter of 2025. The move from 0.6% to 0.9% suggests that inflation momentum is building, which may draw closer scrutiny from policymakers and markets monitoring the country’s inflation trajectory.
