Rising rents and petrol prices meant poorer households faced much higher inflation than the wealthy in the year to September 2017.

Rising rent and tobacco prices, and a fall in the cost of technology goods, mean the cost of living is rising much faster for poorer households than the wealthy.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand released on Friday claimed that households in the bottom quintile of expenditure - the fifth of households which spend the least - rose 2.6 per cent in the year to September 30.

That compared to 1.9 per cent for households as a whole, and 1.5 per cent for the highest spending fifth of households.

Although the consumer price index - the common form of household inflation - is designed to measure a basket of goods reflecting typical household spending, households with lower income spend proportionally more on so-called "essentials" like food, than wealthier households.

READ MORE: Inflation higher than predictions but unlikely to worry central bankers

Stats NZ consumer prices manager Matthew Haigh said poorer households faced a greater impact from rising costs of rent, insurance and the price of cigarettes and tobacco.

"Prices increased over the year for essential items like rents, food, and petrol, while they fell for some luxury items," Haigh said.

"Households with more discretionary income have received the most benefit from cheaper high-tech products."

In recent months, superannuitant households faced the biggest increase in the cost of living, with the September quarter coinciding with annual increases in council rates.

According to Stats NZ, superannuitants' households experienced inflation of 0.9 per cent in the three months to September 30, compared to 0.6 per cent for all households.



"Nearly nine out of ten superannuitants own their own home, so they bear the brunt of rising home ownership costs," Haigh said.