wellington new zealandnew zealands consumer prices climbed 73 in the second quarter from the year before maintaining pressure on the central bank to continue its rapid interest rate increases the statistics agency on monday said the inflation rate was at a 32year high the single largest contributor to inflation was rising prices for construction and home rentals it said the median forecast in a survey of economists by the wall street journal was for the inflation rate to increase to 71 from 69 in the first quarter inflation has soared globally during the covid19 pandemic fueled by monetary stimulus and increased government spending global shipping disruptions and russias invasion of ukraine central banks are aggressively raising interest rates to tame price increases but risk tipping economies into recession the reserve bank of new zealand last week raised its cash rate by a halfpercentage point for a third consecutive meeting to 25 it was the central banks sixth rate increase since october when the cash rate was lifted from a record low 025 the rbnz has projected that the cash rate will peak at about 40 by mid2023