Hello Kitty, Goodbye Squash as New Zealand Reviews CPI Makeup

Dog walking may be a more popular form of exercise in New Zealand than playing squash or tennis, if the review of the countrys consumer price index is a guide.

The cost of buying a kitten or adopting a dog are among 15 new items added to the inflation gauge in its latest review, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington. Squash club memberships and tennis rackets are among 12 items removed.

The three-yearly review reflects different spending patterns as tastes, incomes and the availability of goods and services change, the statistics agency said. The new items will appear in the index from the third quarter, which will be published on Oct. 23.

The costs of adopting a cat and gaining a dog license are also being included as the agency attempts to measure the price of keeping pets. Pet food and accessories are already in the index.

Other additions include breakfast food drinks and cider, while womens dresses join after being previously considered too difficult to price.

Declining expenditure on video cameras, car stereos and car alarms sees those omitted. The hire of video games and the cost of mens tracksuit pants will also be left out.

The countrys consumer prices rose 1.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier. The pace will slow to 1.3 percent in the third quarter, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand forecast last month.

Statistics New Zealand has adjusted the weight each item takes in the CPI to reflect relative spending, with household utilities and housing costs, including rent and insurance, taking up a bigger share. It will also start using retail transaction data to measure price changes for 12 types of consumer electronics, rather than manually collecting prices by visiting stores.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at twithers@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net Iain McDonald, Edward Johnson

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Hello Kitty, Goodbye Squash as New Zealand Reviews CPI Makeup