The consumers price index (CPI) measures the rate of price change of goods and services purchased by New Zealand households.
Key facts
The following table shows the price changes for the September 2025 quarter.
Description |
Quarterly percentage change |
Annual percentage change |
CPI all groups |
1.0 |
3.0 |
Tradeables |
0.8 |
2.2 |
Non-tradeables |
1.1 |
3.5 |
CPI excluding food group, household |
0.8 |
2.5 |
Note: Tables 3.01, 3.02, and 3.03 in the Excel file under Download data have more analytical groupings. |
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| "period ended" | "CPI all groups (quarterly)" |
| "Sep-21" | 2.2 |
| "Dec-21" | 1.4 |
| "Mar-22" | 1.8 |
| "Jun-22" | 1.7 |
| "Sep-22" | 2.2 |
| "Dec-22" | 1.4 |
| "Mar-23" | 1.2 |
| "Jun-23" | 1.1 |
| "Sep-23" | 1.8 |
| "Dec-23" | 0.5 |
| "Mar-24" | 0.6 |
| "Jun-24" | 0.4 |
| "Sep-24" | 0.6 |
| "Dec-24" | 0.5 |
| "Mar-25" | 0.9 |
| "Jun-25" | 0.5 |
| "Sep-25" | 1 |
| "Period ended" | "CPI all groups (annual)" | "Tradeables (annual)" | "Non-tradeables (annual)" |
| "Sep-21" | 4.9 | 5.7 | 4.5 |
| "Dec-21" | 5.9 | 6.9 | 5.3 |
| "Mar-22" | 6.9 | 8.5 | 6 |
| "Jun-22" | 7.3 | 8.7 | 6.3 |
| "Sep-22" | 7.2 | 8.1 | 6.6 |
| "Dec-22" | 7.2 | 8.2 | 6.6 |
| "Mar-23" | 6.7 | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| "Jun-23" | 6 | 5.2 | 6.6 |
| "Sep-23" | 5.6 | 4.7 | 6.3 |
| "Dec-23" | 4.7 | 3 | 5.9 |
| "Mar-24" | 4 | 1.6 | 5.8 |
| "Jun-24" | 3.3 | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| "Sep-24" | 2.2 | -1.6 | 4.9 |
| "Dec-24" | 2.2 | -1.1 | 4.5 |
| "Mar-25" | 2.5 | 0.3 | 4 |
| "Jun-25" | 2.7 | 1.2 | 3.7 |
| "Sep-25" | 3 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
Quarterly change
Within the 1.0 percent rise in the CPI in the September 2025 quarter, higher prices were recorded for:
- local authority rates and payments, up 8.8 percent (27.9 percent contribution to the 1.0 percent rise for all groups)
- vegetables, up 12.2 percent (15.4 percent contribution to all groups)
- meat and poultry, up 4.0 percent (9.4 percent contribution to all groups).
These were partly offset by lower prices for:
- pharmaceutical products, down 4.4 percent (-3.5 percent contribution to all groups)
- confectionery, nuts and snacks, down 1.8 percent (-2.7 percent contribution to all groups).
| Period ended | Percentage point contribution |
| Food | 0.337 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 0.027 |
| Clothing and footwear | 0.024 |
| Housing and household utilities | 0.446 |
| Housing contents and services | -0.037 |
| Health | 0.013 |
| Transport | 0.083 |
| Communication | 0.013 |
| Recreation and culture | 0.079 |
| Education | 0.009 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 0.006 |
Annual change
Within the 3.0 percent increase in the CPI in the 12 months to the September 2025 quarter, higher prices were recorded for:
- electricity, up 11.3 percent (10.1 percent contribution to the 3.0 percent rise for all groups)
- actual rentals for housing, up 2.6 percent (9.2 percent contribution to all groups)
- local authority rates and payments, up 8.8 percent (9.2 percent contribution to all groups).
These were partly offset by lower prices for:
- pharmaceutical products, down 10.6 percent (-2.7 percent contribution to all groups)
- telecommunication equipment, down 15.2 percent (-2.6 percent contribution to all groups).
| Period ended | Percentage point contribution |
| Food | 0.861 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 0.124 |
| Clothing and footwear | 0.006 |
| Housing and household utilities | 1.038 |
| Housing contents and services | -0.063 |
| Health | 0.022 |
| Transport | 0.247 |
| Communication | 0.064 |
| Recreation and culture | 0.351 |
| Education | 0.138 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 0.211 |
Tradeable and non-tradeable inflation
Tradeable inflation measures final goods and services that are influenced by foreign markets.
Within the 2.2 percent increase in tradeable inflation in the 12 months to the September 2025 quarter, higher prices were recorded for:
- overseas accommodation prepaid in New Zealand, up 9.6 percent (20.9 percent contribution to the 2.2 percent rise for all groups tradeable)
- meat and poultry, up 12.2 percent (19.8 percent contribution to all groups tradeable).
These were partly offset by lower prices for:
- telecommunication equipment, down 15.2 percent (-8.6 percent contribution to all groups tradeable)
- petrol, down 1.6 percent (-7.0 percent contribution to all groups tradeable).
Non-tradeable inflation measures final goods and services that do not face foreign competition and is an indicator of domestic demand and supply conditions. However, the inputs of these goods and services can be influenced by foreign competition.
Within the 3.5 percent increase in non-tradeable inflation in the 12 months to the September 2025 quarter, higher prices were recorded for:
- electricity, up 11.3 percent (14.8 percent contribution to the 3.5 percent rise for all groups non-tradeable)
- local authority rates and payments, up 8.8 percent (13.6 percent contribution to all groups non-tradeable).
These were partly offset by lower prices for:
- pharmaceutical products, down 80.9 percent (-4.4 percent contribution to all groups non-tradeable)
- real estate services, down 2.4 percent (-0.8 percent contribution to all groups non-tradeable).
Annual inflation, international comparisons
Country |
12-month inflation rate |
Time reference |
New Zealand |
3.0 |
September 2025 |
Australia |
3.0 |
August 2025 |
United Kingdom |
3.8 |
August 2025 |
United States of America |
2.9 |
August 2025 |
OECD average |
4.1 |
August 2025 |
European Union |
2.0 |
August 2025 |
* Australia's inflation rate is taken from the monthly indicator release. ** United Kingdom's CPI figure is not their headline figure, which is 'Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' |
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OECD Inflation has more data on international inflation rates.
Early childhood education
Inland Revenue (IR) has provided data about the rebate households are expected to receive for early childhood education through the FamilyBoost scheme.
In the September 2024 quarter we made an adjustment of $174 million to early childhood education in the CPI. This adjustment reflected the expected rebate households would receive through the FamilyBoost scheme for the 2024/25 year. The full impact of the rebate was reflected in the September 2024 quarter which resulted in a fall in price for early childhood education.
For the 2025/26 year IR expects the total rebate to be about $168 million which is $6 million lower than the 2024/25 year. In the September 2025 quarter early childhood education increased 2.5 percent which includes a 0.9 percent price increase to account for the $6 million difference, along with any other price movements measured within early childhood education.
Central and local government charges
We have not made any changes to the items that contribute to the central and local government charges series (Series ref: CPIQ.SE9NS3270).
We are still reviewing this series, and any potential updates will be included in the December 2025 quarter CPI release.
More information on what items currently contribute to this series is available on request by contacting [email protected].
More data
Use Infoshare to access the CPI time series:
Subject category: Economic indicators
Group: Consumers price index
Definitions and metadata
Consumers price index concepts - DataInfo+ gives definitions of terms used in this release and general methodology used to produce the CPI and related metadata.
Consumers price index - DataInfo+ gives general methodology used to produce the CPI and related metadata.
Technical enquiries
Alex Heath
[email protected]
04 931 4600
ISSN 1178-0452
Next release
Consumers price index: December 2025 quarter will be released on 23 January 2026.
