Price changes for food, fuel and rent: NZ data and downloads
Food prices, annual % change was +1.9% in Aug 2026, compared with Aug 2025.
Updated
Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; NZ in Numbers calculation. Last retrieved 10 October 2026.
Price changes for food, fuel and rent
Food prices, annual % changePetrol prices, annual % changeDiesel prices, annual % changeRents for new tenancies, annual % changeRents across all tenancies, annual % change
Show the figures
| Period | Food prices, annual % change (%) | Petrol prices, annual % change (%) | Diesel prices, annual % change (%) | Rents for new tenancies, annual % change (%) | Rents across all tenancies, annual % change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 1.9% | 17.9% | 45.8% | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| Jul 2026 | 1.9% | 15.1% | 34.9% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| Jun 2026 | 2.5% | 23.6% | 57.1% | 1.0% | 0.2% |
| May 2026 | 3.2% | 28.7% | 76.8% | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| Apr 2026 | 2.6% | 30.1% | 91.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Mar 2026 | 3.4% | 13.9% | 36.9% | −0.4% | 0.7% |
| Feb 2026 | 4.5% | −6.0% | −6.2% | −2.1% | 0.9% |
| Jan 2026 | 4.2% | −4.8% | −4.9% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Dec 2025 | 4.0% | 1.4% | 4.0% | −0.3% | 1.3% |
| Nov 2025 | 4.4% | 2.8% | 6.2% | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Oct 2025 | 4.7% | 2.6% | 5.1% | −0.2% | 1.6% |
| Sep 2025 | 4.1% | 1.8% | 2.9% | −0.9% | 1.8% |
| Aug 2025 | 5.0% | −2.4% | −4.0% | −1.4% | 2.1% |
| Jul 2025 | 5.0% | −3.7% | −7.2% | −1.3% | 2.4% |
| Jun 2025 | 4.6% | −5.3% | −9.5% | −1.0% | 2.6% |
| May 2025 | 4.4% | −9.4% | −13.7% | −1.8% | 2.8% |
| Apr 2025 | 3.7% | −9.2% | −12.9% | −1.0% | 3.0% |
| Mar 2025 | 3.5% | −6.2% | −10.6% | −0.4% | 3.3% |
| Feb 2025 | 2.4% | −3.0% | −7.6% | 0.5% | 3.4% |
| Jan 2025 | 2.3% | 1.2% | −4.3% | 3.0% | 3.6% |
Aug 2026Food prices, annual % change 1.9%Petrol prices, annual % change 17.9%Diesel prices, annual % change 45.8%Rents for new tenancies, annual % change 0.9%Rents across all tenancies, annual % change 0.0%
Lines break at accounting-basis changes and missing periods. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; NZ in Numbers calculation.
Price changes for food, fuel and rent: NZ data and downloads: definitions
Annual percentage change in the prices of everyday essentials, monthly: food (Food Price Index), petrol and diesel, and rents for new rentals and for all tenancies.
Price changes for food, fuel and rent: NZ data and downloads: comparison limits
These affect how the figures can be compared.
- Fuel prices swing with world oil prices and the exchange rate; also see the petrol tax breakdown (to be added).
Price changes for food, fuel and rent: NZ data and downloads: data by period
The latest ten periods for up to the first six series. Downloads contain every published observation.
| Period | Food prices, annual % change | Petrol prices, annual % change | Diesel prices, annual % change | Rents for new rentals, annual % change | Rents across all tenancies, annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 1.9% | 17.9% | 45.8% | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| Jul 2026 | 1.9% | 15.1% | 34.9% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| Jun 2026 | 2.5% | 23.6% | 57.1% | 1.0% | 0.2% |
| May 2026 | 3.2% | 28.7% | 76.8% | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| Apr 2026 | 2.6% | 30.1% | 91.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Mar 2026 | 3.4% | 13.9% | 36.9% | −0.4% | 0.7% |
| Feb 2026 | 4.5% | −6.0% | −6.2% | −2.1% | 0.9% |
| Jan 2026 | 4.2% | −4.8% | −4.9% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Dec 2025 | 4.0% | 1.4% | 4.0% | −0.3% | 1.3% |
| Nov 2025 | 4.4% | 2.8% | 6.2% | 0.5% | 1.4% |
Price changes for food, fuel and rent: NZ data and downloads: questions for your AI
Download the file, attach it in the assistant you use, then paste the prompt. Whatever it tells you is its reading of the data, not ours.
- 1Download cost-of-living-price-changes.csv
- 2Attach it in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another assistant
- 3Paste this prompt
The attached CSV is Price changes for food, fuel and rent (cost-of-living-price-changes), from Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; NZ in Numbers calculation, NZ in Numbers calculation. Describe how each measure has changed, naming its unit and period. Treat changes in basis and missing periods as breaks. Distinguish observation from explanation. Limitations: Fuel prices swing with world oil prices and the exchange rate; also see the petrol tax breakdown (to be added).. Do not infer causation from changes during government terms.
Data related to price changes for food, fuel and rent: nz data and downloads
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Price changes for food, fuel and rent: NZ data and downloads: sources
The source publication, licence and snapshot used to build this page.
Calculated by NZ in Numbers from Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Selected price indexes (monthly).
- Organisation
- Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; NZ in Numbers calculation, NZ in Numbers calculation
- Licence
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Calculated by NZ in Numbers from the source datasets listed; please also credit those sources.
- Snapshot
- SHA256
- a19bf4399b523b3d98601a26dd394834d6ef480126c95e9d78f08aecfffbd033
- Retrieved
- 10 October 2026
- Formula
- Annual change (%) = (index this month ÷ index same month last year − 1) × 100
- Inputs
- food-price-index, CPIM.SE901. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Selected price indexes (monthly). Content hash: 621d543d1246f751d385222359b2e8aa103b779febd81a04a01896d2b855779b.
- fuel-price-index-monthly, CPIM.SE9072020000. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Selected price indexes (monthly). Content hash: 216d46b3e39d9240e13f1d4ea832925f1e0fe929df2a86ff3b8a0d60cdd25a7b.
- fuel-price-index-monthly, CPIM.SE9072030001. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Selected price indexes (monthly). Content hash: 216d46b3e39d9240e13f1d4ea832925f1e0fe929df2a86ff3b8a0d60cdd25a7b.
- rents-index-monthly, CPIM.SE9041F. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Selected price indexes (monthly). Content hash: e240e45f01aa3403529a21cfe0a9208adbfc68d6cee44074674f03402f22027c.
- rents-index-monthly, CPIM.SE9041S. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Selected price indexes (monthly). Content hash: e240e45f01aa3403529a21cfe0a9208adbfc68d6cee44074674f03402f22027c.