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New Zealand CPI Inflation 4.7% y-o-y (consensus 4.7%) in Q4-23

- New Zealand's CPI inflation rate was 4.7% year-on-year in Q4-23, slowing as expected from the previous quarter's rate of 5.6%.
- The Q4-23 inflation rate is 1.05 percentage points below the one-year average, but the 0.5% q-o-q rate annualises even lower and is close to the target.

New Zealand Policy Rate 5.5% (consensus 5.5) in Nov-23

• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's decision to keep the Official Cash Rate at 5.50% aligns with economic consensus, driven by a mix of domestic economic resilience, global economic slowdown, and persistent inflationary pressures.
• Key future policy influences include domestic demand and housing market dynamics, global economic trends and their impact on exports and inflation, and labour market adjustments.
• The MPC is balancing risks between potential domestic demand strength leading to greater inflationary pressure and a global economic slowdown that could ease these pressures, necessitating a continued restrictive monetary policy stance.

New Zealand Private Labor Cost Index 4.1% y-o-y (consensus 4.2%) in Q3-23

- The New Zealand Private Labor Cost Index grew by 4.1% year-over-year in Q3-23, the slowest growth rate since Q3-22 and a tenth under expectations.
- Private salary growth slowed to 0.82% quarter-over-quarter in Q3-23.

New Zealand Unemployment Rate 3.9% (consensus 3.9%) in Q3-23

- New Zealand's unemployment rate increased to 3.9% in Q3-23, as expected, reaching its highest level since Q2-21.
- Employment contracted by 0.2% in the same quarter, indicating a sharp deterioration in the job market after recent strength.