21 July 2026

The 4.1% annual inflation rate released this morning shows just how tough things have been for households in recent months, but there are underlying signs of positivity, says Carolyn Young, Chief Executive of member-based retail association Retail NZ. 

Stats NZ’s Consumer Price Index figures for the year to June show just how significant a contributor fuel was to the rise, with petrol prices accounting for almost a quarter of the annual inflation rise, and diesel the next biggest contributor. 

“All New Zealanders have been feeling the impacts of high fuel prices, so it is no wonder that petrol and diesel were the main cause of the inflation increase for the year to June,” Ms Young says. “They had an even bigger impact on the 1.5% rise in quarterly inflation, accounting for two thirds of the increase, which was the fourth-biggest quarterly rise since June 2022.” 

“But if you look beyond the high fuel and power prices, the rest of the products in the CPI basket are actually tracking within the inflation target range of 1-3% for the year,” Ms Young says. 

“This will be heartening to retailers, because we can see that if they just hold on through winter and see out this period of instability, the economy looks to be tracking along well underneath.”  

Ms Young also notes that while tensions have escalated again in the Middle East, fuel prices have not risen sharply, nor to the levels that we saw when the instability first erupted, which will be of further comfort to both retailers and consumers. 

For further information or to set up an interview please contact Carolyn Young on 021 449 452

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