WELLINGTON: New Zealand Third quarter inflation expectations picked up slightly, according to a Reserve Bank of New Zealand survey on Tuesday.
Expectations for New Zealand’s consumer-price gains for the next 12 months rose to 1.46% from 1.32% in the second quarter, the survey conducted for the central bank by ACNielson showed. Expectations for inflation in the next 24 months rose to 1.94% from 1.85% in the prior survey.
The central bank is required to keep inflation within a 1% to 3% target range, while aiming for near 2%. As a result, the survey is closely watched for any clues on where inflation might head over the near and medium term. Annual inflation is currently 0.3% and the central bank expects it to return to the middle of the range by the first half of 2016.