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Australia Inflation Eases In May
(RTTNews) - Australia's consumer price inflation softened more than expected in May, giving space for the central bank to lower its interest rate.
The monthly Consumer Price Index indicator rose 2.1 percent year-on-year, following the 2.4 percent increase in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday.
A similar lower rate was last seen in October 2024. Inflation was expected to drop marginally to 2.3 percent.
Annual trimmed mean inflation was 2.4 percent in May, down from 2.8 percent in the previous month. This is the lowest underlying inflation rate since November 2021.
The CPI excluding volatile items and holiday travel measure rose 2.7 percent compared to a 2.8 percent rise in April.
The largest contributor to the movement in annual inflation was food and non-alcoholic beverages, which gained 2.9 percent, ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.
This was followed by a 2.0 percent rise in housing cost and 5.9 percent increase in alcohol and tobacco prices. Due to electricity rebates for households, electricity prices declined 5.9 percent.
At the same time, automotive fuel prices were down 10.0 percent and hit the lowest since September 2022.
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