New Zealand Q2 CPI rises 0.4% on-quarter, below expectations
Recasts, adds economist reaction in paragraphs 6, 9-10, updates market reaction in paragraph 7
By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) -New Zealand inflation slowed to a three-year low in the second quarter, taking it close to the central bank's target band and underpinning expectations for rate cuts later this year.
New Zealand's annual inflation was 3.3%, down from 4.0% in the first quarter, and below economist expectations of a 3.4% rate.
"The 3.3% annual price increase is below what was seen during the peak in 2022, and is similar to three years ago,” Statistics New Zealand consumer prices senior manager Nicola Growden said.
Rates have been on hold as the central bank waits for higher rates to work through the economy and return inflation to its target band of 1% to 3%.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) held its cash rate at 5.5% for the eighth consecutive meeting but opened the door to monetary policy becoming less restrictive over time should inflation slow as expected.
"Today's data tilts the risks towards earlier and larger OCR (official cash rate) cuts. In our view a 25bp OCR cut in November looks to be the bare minimum of what the RBNZ will need to deliver over 2024," said ASB senior economist Mark Smith in a note.
The New Zealand dollar rose 0.4% to $0.6071 in the wake of the numbers, largely because investors had already priced in a soft report. Two-year swaps edged up 3 basis points to 4.40%, but were still down a huge 40 basis points since the RBNZ turned dovish last week.
The non-tradeable component of annual inflation at 5.4% remained sticky, as increases in rent, construction costs for new houses and local government taxes stay higher. However, the slightly stronger-than-expected non-tradeables figure was in part due to a change in how Statistics New Zealand calculates road user charges.
ANZ economists Henry Russell and Miles Workman said in a note that the data highlighted weak demand and that increasing spare capacity was now flowing through across the economy.
After the figures were released, ANZ said it expected the central bank to cut rates in November, earlier than its prior forecast of February.
Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Chris Reese and Jamie Freed
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