Australian Inflation Falls to Near 2-Year Low

According to official data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the consumer price index (CPI), Australia's headline measure of inflation, rose by 4.3 percent in the 12 months to the end of November 2023.

It marks a fall from a 4.9 percent rise in the 12 months to the end of October 2023 and the slowest annual rate of price rises since January 2022.

State media the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that economists were expecting inflation to come in at 4.4 percent over the year to November.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the data but said that inflation is still higher than the government would like.

"What this number shows is that the government's policies are helping to put downward pressure on inflation in our economy," he said at a press conference.

The ABS identified a 6.6 percent rise in housing prices in the 12 months to November and a 4.6 percent increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices as the biggest drivers of inflation over the period.

Electricity prices were 10.7 percent higher in November 2023 than 12 months earlier and the cost of financial services were 8.8 percent higher.

Automotive fuel prices rose 2.3 percent in the 12 month period -- down from annual increases of 19.7 percent in September 2023 and 8.6 percent in October.

"This has been a significant contributor to the lower annual rise in the monthly CPI indicator over the past two months," Michelle Marquardt, head of price statistics at the ABS, said in a media release.

The prices of clothing and footwear, household equipment and services and holiday travel accommodation all fell in the year to November, the ABS said.

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