This will present an annual inflation rate of 8.1 per cent, down from the previous 8.5 per cent - the highest since December 1981.
US price growth has also soared to the highest level since the early 1980s due to the collision of a post-pandemic demand boom and a congested global supply chain. This has stoked fears that the Federal Reserve's aggressive attempts to rein that in could lead the economy into recession, leading to the recent market volatility.
Greg Smith, head of retail with Devon Funds Management, said the latest US consumer price index number will be pivotal.
"Anything less than 8.1 per cent and there will be great relief. We have seen buyers coming back in the US and New Zealand markets. But the markets are jumpy and worried about something that hasn't happened yet.
"Are we heading for a recession? Locally, consumers are under the pump with prices of everything going up, and mortgage payments increasing. But on the other side card spending and retail sales are strong, and unemployment is at 3.2 per cent," Smith said.
"Inflation is high but consumers are spending and businesses seem relatively confident. The key thing that happened in the 1970s was that central banks let inflation get out of control and then had to jack up interest rates higher than they should have been.
"This time they are not getting behind the curve and are raising rates expeditiously," said Smith.
Contact Energy was up 17c or 2.28 per cent to $7.62; a2 Milk rebounded 21c or 4.84 per cent to $4.55; Delegat Group rose 64c or 5.33 per cent to $12.674; Summerset Group Holdings collected 38c or 3.62 per cent to $10.87; and Port of Tauranga gained 7c to $6.11.
Air New Zealand increased 3c or 4.29 per cent to 73c; PGG Wrightson was up 11c or 2.59 per cent to $4.36; Pacific Edge gained 3c or 3.8 per cent to 82c; Rakon collected 3c or 1.89 per cent to $1.62; My Food Bag picked up 4c or 5 per cent to 84c; and Gentrack improved 6c or 3.9 per cent to $1.60.
Fisher and Paykel Healthcare declined 36c to $20.90; Freightways fell 40c or 3.64 per cent to $10.60; Restaurant Brands was down 31c or 2.48 per cent to $12.19; and KMD Brands decreased 13c or 2.4 per cent to $1.122.
Donor software management firm Pushpay Holdings was down 3c or 2.26 per cent to $1.30 after reporting a 7 per cent increase in net profit to US$33.4m ($53m) on revenue of US$202.8m, up 13 per cent, for the year ending March – the result was in line with expectation.
Operating cash flow was US$61.5m and its 2023 operating earnings (Ebitdaf) forecast was US$56m-$61m, down from the latest US$62.4m. Total customers increased 31 per cent to 14,508 and processing volume grew 10 per cent to US$7.6 billion.
Ventia Services Group fell 17c or 5.36 to $3. Infrastructure services provider Ventia told shareholders at its recent annual meeting that it has a record $16 billion worth of work in hand for the second half of the 2022 financial year and a strong bid pipeline.
Other decliners were The Warehouse Group down 9c to $2.78; Harmoney falling 6c or 4.11 per cent to $1.40; and NZ King Salmon Investments decreasing 4c or 14.29 per cent to 24c.
New Zealand Oil & Gas, unchanged at 45c, told the market that exploration operator Central Petroleum has identified a potentially attractive additional appraisal opportunity in the Australian Palm Valley Pacoota formation. NZOG, which has an interest in the Palm Valley and Dingo permits, costs have increased in those exploration fields.
Chatham Rock Phosphate, up 4c or 15.38 per cent to 30c, is finalising the purchase of the Queensland Korella Mine and has begun a scoping study for an export mine on the adjacent Korella South exploration area, following interest from North Asia phosphate buyers.
