Economists are predicting a near doubling of the annual inflation rate, to within a band of about 1.3%-1.4%.
At present, annual inflation, measured by the consumer price index (CPI) is at 0.7% and at the bottom end of the Reserve Bank's 1%-3% target, with CPI data due to be released on Wednesday by Statistics New Zealand.
ASB economist Jane Turner expects the third-quarter CPI to show increases of 1% from the previous quarter and 1.4%, compared with a year ago, with the annual CPI expected to increase from the 0.7% to 1.7%.
''A seasonal increase in fruit and vegetable prices, lift in petrol prices and council rate increases are behind the third-quarter lift,'' she said.
Separate data released by Statistics New Zealand showed food prices for September were up 1.2% on a year earlier, but otherwise unchanged from August.
Vegetable prices fell 7.4% during September, with tomatoes and lettuce coming into season, but that was offset by a 6.4% hike in the price of fresh milk, its biggest gain since July 2007.
Food prices account for almost 20% of the CPI, which showed an annual inflation rate of 0.7% in the June quarter, the slowest since 1999.
''Annual inflation is likely to have turned a corner in the third quarter, paving the way for the Reserve Bank to hike rates from early 2014,'' Ms Turner said.
She said a CPI result on the high side of the Reserve Bank's forecast would reinforce the likelihood of an OCR increase next, albeit the bank had some leeway given the New Zealand dollar was tracking ahead of expectations.
Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said the annual inflation rate was set to rise back within the Reserve Bank's 1%-3% target band for the first time in more than a year.
That would give the bank more confidence in its message that interest rates will need to rise from next year, and that its monetary policy was on the right track.
He predicted the CPI would rise 0.9% for the September quarter, which would lift the annual inflation rate from 0.7% to 1.3%.
However, the expected near-doubling of the inflation rate in one go probably overstated the degree to which inflation pressure was picking up, he said.
''With the economy still operating with some slack, and the New Zealand dollar remaining high, we don't expect annual inflation to be back at the Reserve Bank's target midpoint of 2% until the end of next year,'' Mr Gordon said.
Ms Turner said underlying inflation pressures were beginning to pick up, albeit from low levels. ''Construction cost inflation should continue to lift along with the increase in construction activity in Canterbury and Auckland,'' she said.
Mr Gordon said the June quarter CPI had revealed a ''sharp jump'' in new house prices nationwide, but he was waiting to see evidence of this happening consistently outside the Canterbury region.
''With house prices accelerating and construction activity picking up, we'll be watching for further evidence of rising housing-related costs; new house prices, rents, maintenance and selling fees,'' he said.
