This article has been translated from English to Gen Z Slang.
Yo fam, New Zealand's inflation situation is kinda wild. 🤔 It went from a whole 1.0% to a chill 0.6% in Q4 2025, making the annual vibe hit 3.1%. This totally flexed on the market's weak 0.5% guess and the Reserve Bank thought they had it figured out too, but nah. Domestic vibes are just too strong, can't keep 'em down with those international price struggles. 🌏
Main Vibes
- Annual CPI went up 3.1% year-on-year, climbing up from 2.7% last September. Quarterly inflation was all like, hey, check me out at 0.6% which was flexing on market and RBNZ’s low-key predictions.
- Local vs. Global Pressure: Non-tradeable inflation, all about that local demand and supply, bumped up to 3.5% per year but started chillin'. Tradeable inflation, aka foreign market drama, went up 2.6% yearly, showing global prices just won't quit despite the struggles out there. ✈️
- Major Players: International flying prices took off with a 7.2% boost, driving 20% of the quarterly hype. Petrol prices cruised up 2.5%, kind of owning 13.2% of the action. 📶 Phone services were flexing with a 2.8% rise, driving around 9.1% of the quarterly vibe.
- Low-Key Balancers: Veggie prices plummeted by a whopping 16.5%, legit saving 34.6% of the quarterly heat. 💊 Meds dropped by 4.3%, adding a chill -4.7% to the quarterly scene. 🥕
- Annual Game Changers: Power bills surged 12.2%, powering up 10.3% of the annual buzz. Local council rates took a hike at 8.8%, making moves with an 8.7% lift. Housing rents climbed 1.9%, handing over a 6.9% annual push. 🏠
- Core Inflation's Stuck in the Past: Taking out food, energy, and fuel, inflation rose 0.8% quarterly and 2.5% yearly – showing price vibes aren't totally down, even with spare economy space. 🤑
Peep the legit Stats NZ Quarterly CPI Report (December 2025 Quarter)
Even with the minor flex in inflation, the plot thickens, hinting that disinflationary vibes are still hanging around in the NZ scene.
Non-tradeable inflation, even chillin' at 3.5%, is slowing down more than the last few quarters. The homies over in the domestic demand scene and economic capacity are just gradually ghosting those long-term price struggles. 😅
Meanwhile, there's this epic battle going on between tradeable and non-tradeable inflation. 🔄 Tradeable inflation spiked 0.7% in December and 2.6% annually, whereas non-tradeable swelled 0.6% quarterly and 3.5% on the year. This whole sitch is spilling the tea on different forces between home prices and overseas pressures. 💸
Market Vibes
New Zealand Dollar vs. Major Currencies: 5-min
NZD vs. Major Currencies 5-min Forex Chart by TradingView
Yo, the NZ dollar got a boost right after the report dropped but, like, it lost the juice an hour later. 🕰️ Still, it came back stronger than before and hopped back on a chill upward path as the Asian squad woke up. ⬆️
The Kiwi currency climbed roughly 0.34% against the yen, probs 'cause the yen's shadowboxing with global money vibes. Against the pound, euro, USD, and Swiss franc, the Kiwi was like, "hey" with gains of around 0.16% to 0.12%. Even against the Aussie dollar, the NZD's rally was a laid-back 0.11%. 🌏💵
