New Zealand's consumer price index,CPI, which measures the rate of inflation, rose 2.3 pct in the
quarter ended March 31 against an 8.9 pct rise in the December
1986 quarter and a 2.3 pct rise in the March 1986 quarter, the
Statistics Department said.
    For the 12 months ended March 1987 the CPI rose 18.3 pct
against 18.2 pct in 12 months ended December 1986 and 13.0 pct
in the 12 months ended March 1986, it said in a statement.
    Nearly half the increase in the latest quarterly index was
contributed by the housing group, the department said.
    The December quarter was significantly affected by the
introduction of a 10 pct value added goods and services tax,
GST, in October 1986, it added.
    However, some GST charges not measured in the December 1986
quarter influenced the latest March quarterly figure, it said.
    This is because of an unavoidable lag in price information,
particularly on housing, used cars and insurance on household
contents, it added.
 Reuter
