New Zealand‘s cost of living has seen a sharp increase for many households due to higher prices for petrol and mortgage interest payments, data from Stats NZ revealed on Wednesday.
“The annual cost of living increase, as measured by the household living-costs price indexes, was the highest recorded since the series began in 2008 for 7 out of the 13 household groups,” Stats NZ, New Zealand’s statistics department said.
The cost of living was 5.2 percent higher for the average household in the December 2021 quarter than the December 2020 quarter, Stats NZ data shows.
According to Stats NZ, the increase in living cost was higher for every household group in the December 2021 quarter compared with the December 2020 quarter, with living cost increases ranging from 4.8 percent for the beneficiary household group to 5.4 percent for the highest-spending household group.
This was mainly influenced by higher prices for petrol, mortgage interest payments, and second-hand motor cars, StatsNZ said.
“However, this follows a long period of lower increase in living cost experienced by the highest expenditure group,” consumer prices manager Katrina Dewbery said in a statement.
The cost-of-living increase was mainly influenced by higher prices for petrol, mortgage interest payments, and second-hand motor cars, Dewbery said.
Prices for all interest payments, including mortgage interest payments, increased 7.8 per cent in the December 2021 quarter, statistics show.
“Interest payments started falling in 2018 and are now starting to jump back up. However, they are still at a lower level than they were two years ago,” Dewbery said.
“Highest-spending households spend 7.3 percent of their expenditure on interest payments, compared with 4.6 percent for the average household. This means the highest-spending households experience the price increase more than others.”
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