NZ consumer price growth eases to 5.6%

The news: New Zealand September quarter CPI fell to 5.6% in annual terms, undershooting analysts' expectations of 5.9%.

The numbers: The figure was down from 6% in the June quarter, and from the current cycle peak of 7.2% in the 2022 June quarter. NZ's official cash rate hit 5.5% in May, where it remains following a series of hikes that began in October 2021 after an extended period at 0.25% during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The context: The reading comes after the country's national election at the weekend, which will see the National Party form government leading a centre-right coalition with a minor party or parties. National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis will be the country's new finance minister, Reuters reports. Willis has worked as an adviser to former NZ prime minister John Key, in senior management roles at dairy co-operative Fonterra and has served on the board of free market think tank The New Zealand Initiative.