The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released the survey from its first quarter inflation expectations last week.

According to the survey, the one year inflation expectation was seen stable at 1.86%, slightly down from 1.87% that was registered previously.

The two year inflation expectation however rose from 2.02% previously to 2.11%.

The RBNZ had released its previous inflation expectations survey in the fourth quarter of last year.

In an immediate reaction the New Zealand dollar edged higher.

The RBNZ takes into account the inflation expectations data while deciding on its monetary policy.

The central bank held its first meeting last week where interest rates were left unchanged.

The central bank left monetary policy unchanged and signaled that consumer prices could remain weak during this year.

In a separate report, food prices in New Zealand rose to an un-adjusted 1.2% on the month in January, data from Statistics New Zealand showed. This follows December 0.8% decline.

Food and vegetable prices were seen rising 2.0% on the month.

“Some dairy products and produce items were affected by adverse conditions during winter and spring,”

consumer prices manager Geoffrey Wong said.