Australia’s annual inflation rate is the lowest in more than three years and has dipped below 3 percent.
The lates Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent in the September 2024 quarter and 2.8 percent annually.
ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said the September quarter’s rise was the lowest outcome since the June 2020 quarter fall, which occurred during the COVID-19 outbreak and was driven by free childcare.
“Annually, the September quarter’s rise of 2.8 percent was down from 3.8 percent in the June quarter. This is the lowest annual inflation rate since the March 2021 quarter,” Ms Marquardt said.
She said while prices continued to rise for most goods and services, these increases were offset by large falls for Electricity and Automotive fuel prices.
Ms Marquardt said when prices for some items moved by large amounts, measures of underlying inflation like the Trimmed mean could provide additional insights into how inflation was trending.
She said trimmed mean annual inflation was 3.5 percent, down from 4 percent in the June quarter.
“The trimmed mean excluded the significant falls in both Electricity and Automotive fuel this quarter, alongside other large price rises and falls. As a result, trimmed mean annual inflation of 3.5 percent was higher than CPI inflation of 2.8 percent,” Ms Marquardt said.
