Annual inflation has remained at 2.2% for the year to December according to the latest update from Stats NZ.

It's slightly above what the Reserve Bank had forecast but economists say it shouldn't impact the potential of a February OCR cut.

Rent was the largest driver of the annual increase, rising 4.2% in the past year.

Westpac Senior Economist Satish Ranchhod says inflation pressures should continue to ease over the coming year.

"Importantly, measures of core inflation (which track the underlying trend in consumer prices) have continued to trend down towards the RBNZ’s target range,"

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