AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)

SYDNEY: New Zealand said on Sunday it is extending the duration of cuts in fuel excise tax, road user charges and public transport fares by five months until the end of January, as families struggle with higher living costs amid strong inflationary pressures.

Petrol prices in New Zealand, like elsewhere, have risen sharply since Russia’s attack on Ukraine started in February, contributing to significant inflation.

Food prices rose 1.2% in June, while they rose 6.6% from the same month last year.

“There’s no easy fix for the cost of living, but we’re taking a range of actions to ease the pressure on families,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in a statement.

Sri Lankans queue at pumps for days with no promise of petrol

“We want Kiwis to have some certainty over the coming months in the face of volatile prices at the pump.” The government in March cut the fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre and road user charges – a charge levied on diesel vehicle users – by as much for three months.

The temporary measure was extended again in May until mid-August. Authorities flagged the changes will reduce the cost of filling up a 40-litre tank of petrol by more than NZ$11 ($6.77) and for a 60-litre tank by more than NZ$17.

The Treasury estimates the combined impact of policy will reduce headline inflation by 0.5 percentage points in the June quarter, Robertson said.

But he warned inflation will likely “stay for some time at levels higher than we have seen in recent years” even as economists forecast it would peak in the June quarter.

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) delivered its sixth straight interest rate rise and signalled it remained comfortable with its planned aggressive tightening path to restrain runaway inflation.

RBNZ has forecast inflation peaking at 7.0% in the second quarter of 2022, well above its target of 1% to 3%.

Comments

Comments are closed.