Sharp oil price drop should have kept December quarter inflation flat

Sun, 20 Jan 2019

By Jenny Ruth Jan. 21 (BusinessDesk) - Inflation was likely flat to barely higher in the December quarter as oil prices fell nearly 40 percent, fruit and vegetable prices fell to seasonal lows and the New Zealand dollar strengthened modestly. Economists are expecting a zero-to-0.1 percent increase in the Consumers Price Index for the three months ended December and an annual pace of 1.8-to-1.9 percent when Statistics New Zealand publishes its latest reading on Wednesday this week. That's down from the Reserve Bank's 0.2 percent forecas...

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