Statistics New Zealand will be funded to collect and report a monthly Consumers Price Index from the start of 2027 as part of a wider budget boost.
The data collection agency was spared the cost cutting knife in Budget 2025 and will instead receive $62 million over the next four years to deliver “eight updated macroeconomic measures” by the end of 2030.
Budget documents did not specify which measures and Stats NZ was not immediately available to comment.
However, the documents said these measures would be changed to meet international standards, better detect changes in the economy, and in some cases be reported monthly.
A separate $16 million line item has been set aside to fund a monthly Consumers Price Index which measures inflation and is the basis of the Reserve Bank’s 2% target in legislation.
Currently the index is only reported quarterly, which has frustrated Reserve Bank (RBNZ) policymakers who have at times struggled to get a handle on how prices were behaving during the recent inflation spike.
Former RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr said he had taken the case for monthly CPI funding directly to the Prime Minister, as well as expressing his views at a public select committee hearing.
He also said it had been difficult to correctly assess inflation pressure in the economy with misleading Gross Domestic Product figures that were later revised significantly.
Budget documents showed $6.6 million will be made available in the coming fiscal year and another $5.2 million for Stats NZ to begin work on monthly inflation reports from 2027.
The cost appears to fall once the monthly reports are underway, with just $2.6 million and $2.1 million of funding available in the years ending June 2028 and 2029.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.