The NZX 50 climbed 80 points, or 0.6%, to 13,695 on Friday, reversing its morning weakness, snapping a four-session losing streak, and rebounding from its lowest level since July 2, reached a day earlier, mainly boosted by gains in the energy, materials, and consumer discretionary sectors. Fresh data also lifted sentiment, as food inflation eased to 2.5% in June from 3.2% in May, marking the softest increase in 16 months. However, persistently high oil prices limited the gains, as inflation concerns fueled expectations of further interest rate hikes. Traders remained cautious ahead of the release of Q2 inflation data due next Tuesday amid elevated oil prices. RBNZ Chief Economist Paul Conway recently warned that sticky inflation could prompt further interest rate hikes. Among the top performers were Freightways Group (1.5%), Meridian Energy (1.4%), South Port New Zealand (1.4%), and Chorus (1.2%). For the week, the index fell 0.6%, after rising in the previous week.