ABS releases CPI figures for June quarter
CPI inflation rose 1 per cent in the June quarter and 3.8 per cent annually, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This is largely in line with analysts’ expectations of 3.8 per cent.
Over the quarter, the most significant price rises were housing (1.1 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.2 per cent), clothing and footwear (3.1 per cent), and alcohol and tobacco (1.5 per cent).
“The annual rise of 3.8 per cent for the June quarter is up from 3.6 per cent in the March quarter,” said ABS head of prices statistics, Michelle Marquardt.
“This is the first increase in annual CPI inflation since the December 2022 quarter.”
She noted the quarterly growth in housing was driven by rents (2.0 per cent) and new dwellings purchased by owner-occupiers (1.1 per cent), with the continuing tight rental market and low vacancy rates causing rental prices to rise 2 per cent for the quarter.
This follows a 2.1 per cent rise in the March 2024 quarter, she said.
Meanwhile, higher labour and material costs drove the 1.1 per cent rise this quarter for construction of new dwellings, and follows a 1.1 per cent rise in the previous quarter.
Unfavourable growing conditions also contributed to price rises of fruits and vegetables this quarter.
“This was the highest quarterly rise for fruit and vegetables since 2016,” Marquardt said.
Annually, the CPI rose 3.8 per cent, with slightly higher annual inflation for both goods and services than in the March 2024 quarter.
“Prices rose for goods such as tobacco, new dwellings, automotive fuel and fruit. Annual services inflation continued to be impacted by higher prices for rents and insurance,” Marquardt said.
Electricity prices were up from 2.0 per cent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, standing 6 per cent higher compared with 12 months ago.
Automotive fuel prices rose 7.7 per cent annually, up from 5.2 per cent in the year to the March quarter, reflecting higher prices for unleaded and premium fuels.
Annual trimmed mean inflation was 3.9 per cent, down from 4.0 per cent in the March quarter.
“This is the sixth quarter in a row of lower annual trimmed mean inflation, down from the peak of 6.8 per cent in the December 2022 quarter,” Marquardt said.
AUTHOR
Rhea Nath
Recommended for you
Six months after scrapping its planned deal with KKR, Perpetual is yet to make significant headway on the sale of its wealth management division but is focusing on alternatives for product development.
Platinum Asset Management’s NPAT has fallen by 89 per cent in FY25, with the firm confirming that it will be renamed as L1 Group following the expected completion of its merger with L1 Capital.
Statutory NPAT at Pacific Current has almost halved in FY25 to $58.2 million as the result of an investment restructure.
Being able to provide certainty about redemptions is worth fund managers pursuing when targeting the retail market even if it means sacrificing returns, according to Federation Asset Management.
