The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 per cent in the March quarter 2018, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures reveal. This follows a rise of 0.6 per cent in the December quarter 2017. The most significant price rises this quarter are secondary education (+3.3%), gas and other household fuels (+6.0%), pharmaceutical products (+5.6%), vegetables (+3.7%) and medical and hospital services (+1.5%). These price rises were partially offset by falls in international holiday travel and accommodation (-2.4%), audio, visual and computing media and services (-6.1%) and furniture (-2.8%). The CPI rose 0.4 ... (full story)

Australian inflationary pressures remain weak. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), headline consumer price inflation (CPI) rose by 0.4% in the three months to March, missing forecasts for a larger increase of 0.5%. That left annual CPI steady at 1.9%, again, one-tenth below the level expected. However, underlying CPI — of more importance when it comes to the outlook for interest rate settings — rose by 0.5% over the quarter in seasonally adjusted terms, leaving the increase on a year earlier at 1.95%. That was faster than than 1.85% annual pace expected by economists, and hints that underlying ... (full story)