Annual consumers price index inflation is currently around the top of the Monetary Policy Committee’s 1 to 3 percent target band. However, with spare capacity in the economy and declining domestic inflation pressure, headline inflation is expected to return to around the 2 percent target midpoint by mid-2026. New Zealand’s economic recovery stalled in the second quarter of this year. Spending by households and businesses has been constrained by global economic policy uncertainty, falling employment, higher prices for some essentials, and declining house prices. There are upside and downside risks to the economic ... (full story)