The cost of living for the average New Zealand household has increased 6.2 percent in the year to the March quarter, according to new data from Stats NZ.
The increase comes after a seven percent increase in the year to the December quarter.
The most recent high was 8.2 percent recorded in the year to the December 2022 quarter.
The biggest contributing factors for the average household's cost going up included interest payments increasing 28.2 percent, private transport supplies and services increasing 9.6 percent, and insurance increasing 17.9 percent.
The increase was slightly higher when looking at the cost of living for Māori households alone.
Costs were up 6.3 percent for the same period - following a 7.1 percent increase in the year to the December quarter.
Meanwhile, figures showed inflation - as measured by the consumers price index (CPI) - was four percent in the year to the March quarter, following a 4.7 percent increase in the year to the December quarter.
The most recent high was 7.3 percent recorded in the year to the June 2022 quarter.
The two measures of inflation are typically used for different purposes - a key use of the CPI in New Zealand is monetary policy, while the household living-costs price indexes (HLPIs) gives insight into the cost of living for different household groups.
One important difference between the two is housing. For example, the HLPIs include interest payments, while the CPI includes the cost of building a new home.
"For many households, interest payments have made a significant contribution to living costs. This reflects mortgage interest rates remaining high relative to 2021," Stats NZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.
