Australia's inflation rate has eased by more than economists expected. The inflation figures are seen as crucial to the central bank's deliberations on the official interest rate next week. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1 per cent in Australia in the March quarter, for an annual inflation rate of 1.6 per cent, down from 3.1 per cent previously, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. Economists' forecasts for the headline CPI had centred on a rise of 0.7 per cent in the quarter, for an annual pace of 2.1 per cent. The latest official forecast from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in February, ... (full story)