RBNZ Q2 Sectoral Factor Model Inflation rises by 5.4% YoY, Kiwi unfazed around 0.5650

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) released its Sectoral Factor Model Inflation gauge for the third quarter of 2022 this Tuesday.

The gauge rose to 5.4% YoY in Q3 2022 vs. 5.2% seen in Q2 (revised up from 4.6%).

In early Asia, New Zealand’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated by 2.2% QoQ in the third quarter, beating expectations of a 1.6% increase. Meanwhile, the annualized inflation eased from a 32-year high of 7.3% to 7.2%, although outpaced expectations of +6.6%.

FX Implications

The Kiwi dollar is unperturbed by the RBNZ inflation gauge, as NZD/USD is reversing the latest rally to 0.5677, triggered by the above forecast Q3 CPI release.

At the time of writing, the kiwi is trading at 0.5648, up 0.24% on the day.

About the RBNZ Sectoral Factor Model Inflation

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has a set of models that produce core inflation estimates. The sectoral factor model estimates a measure of core inflation based on co-movements – the extent to which individual price series move together. It takes a sectoral approach, estimating core inflation based on two sets of prices: prices of tradable items, which are either imported or exposed to international competition, and prices of non-tradable items, which are those produced domestically and not facing competition from imports.