Was flat (0.0%) this quarter, compared with a rise of 0.5% in the December quarter 2018. rose 1.3% over the twelve months to the March quarter 2019, compared with a rise of 1.8% over the twelve months to the December quarter 2018. OVERVIEW OF CPI MOVEMENTS The most significant price rises this quarter are vegetables (+7.7%), secondary education (+4.2%), motor vehicles (+2.4%) and medical and hospital services (+1.3%). The most significant price falls this quarter are automotive fuel (-8.7%), domestic holiday, travel and accommodation (-3.8%) and international holiday, travel and accommodation (-2.1%). (full story)

Australian inflationary pressures weakened further in the March quarter, increasing the odds the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut official interest rates in the months ahead. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), headline consumer price inflation (CPI) was unchanged in the three months to March, seeing the annual increase slow sharply to just 1.3%. Markets had been expecting a quarterly increase of 0.2% and year-ended rate of 1.5%. Underlying inflation — ore more importance when it comes to the outlook for monetary policy settings from the RBA — rose by 0.2% during the quarter after seasonal ... (full story)

AUD plunged following the release of worse-than-expected year-on-year CPI data. The sentiment-linked asset will now be closely watching the upcoming US-China trade talks. The Australian Dollar fell against all of its major counterparts following the release of several weak local CPI publications while domestic bond yields fell almost seven percent. Year-on-year headline inflation came in at 1.3 percent, the softest outcome since the third quarter of 2016. Quarter-on-quarter data showed similar weakness, clocking in at 0.0 percent, the softest outcome in three years. Considering economic indicators have been tending ... (full story)

The Reserve Bank is under more pressure to cut interest rates after inflation fell further below its target band. Core inflation — the RBA's preferred measure of price rises — came in at 1.4 per cent over the year, one of the lowest readings since the series started in 2003. It has now been stuck below the RBA's 2-3 per cent target band for three years. Headline inflation — which includes volatile items such as fresh food and fuel — was flat over the quarter, and dropped from the 1.8 per cent recorded over 2018 to 1.3 per cent at the end of March. Headline inflation — which includes volatile items such as fresh food ... (full story)