Statistics New Zealand will start publishing monthly Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation data from July next year.
Currently, NZ is the only OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) country without a monthly CPI. The CPI only being reported quarterly has long frustrated Reserve Bank policymakers seeking the most up-to-date data for their monetary policy decisions. The Reserve Bank uses the CPI as the official measure of inflation in its inflation targeting.
The move to bolster its statistics reporting comes after the data agency received a funding boost from Budget 2025 to produce more economist statistic reporting. Alongside monthly inflation data, from late 2027, Statistics NZ will provide 25 new monthly industry indicators on economic activity as well as improvements to balance of payment statistics.
Sharing the process towards monthly CPI on Thursday, Government Statistician and Statistics NZ chief executive Colin Lynch said moving from quarterly to monthly information would provide a more current view of price changes across the economy.
From early 2027, internal production testing of the monthly process will begin. And by May, the data agency will release a transitional report covering price changes in April.
Next June Statistics NZ will release a transitional report covering price changes in May. And from July, it will publish the first official release covering the June month and the June quarter, completing the first quarter of the monthly CPI under the new system.
From August 2027 onwards, Statistics NZ will release ongoing monthly CPI releases.
Statistics NZ said the transitional reports in May and June will cover data from April and May, and will provide an opportunity to work with the monthly data before ongoing publication begins.
“These reports will include data produced through the new monthly process, along with monthly figures for the previous year so users can compare how prices have changed over time," Lynch said.
“Through these reports, users will be able to test how the data works with their systems, how they access it, and how to interpret and use monthly price movements.”
Lynch said giving customers time to get used to the new information was an important part of the transition and would help them prepare their systems and analysis.
He said it wasn't simply a matter of publishing the existing CPI more often. Statistics NZ had taken a digital-first approach and was changing how price information is collected, processed, checked and published so they could produce reliable information every month.
“CPI is closely watched and widely used, so maintaining the quality of the data and the trust people place in it is fundamental to how we are making this change,” Lynch said.
"The CPI is used to inform decisions that affect all New Zealanders, from interest rates and government policy to business planning, contracts, and household finances.”
“Providing a monthly CPI from 2027 represents a major change to one of New Zealand’s most important economic measures, so it is essential this is done with quality and trust at its heart," said Lynch.
Statistics Minister Scott Simpson said these changes mean “better-informed household, business and government decisions”.
“The transition to monthly CPI data puts quality, trust and readiness first, while giving users advance access to the information they have asked for.”
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