Australian inflation falls to 2.1 pc in 12 months

CANBERRA: Australia’s annual rate of inflation eased more than expected in May to its lowest level in 2025, official data showed.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday that the consumer price index rose by 2.1% in the 12-month period to May, down from 2.4% in the year to April and the weakest annual increase since October 2024.

Local media reported that economists had expected the CPI to rise by 2.3% in the year to May.

The annual trimmed mean, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred measure of underlying inflation, fell from 2.8% in the year to April to 2.4% in the 12-month period to May.

Michelle Marquardt, head of price statistics at the ABS, said it was the lowest rate of annual trimmed-mean inflation since November 2021.

The ABS said the biggest contributors to CPI growth in the year to May were food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, and alcohol and tobacco.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 2.9% over the period, down from 3.1% in the year to April. Rents increased by 4.5% in the 12 months to May, down from a 5.0% rise in the 12 months to April and the weakest annual growth since December 2022.

Those gains were partly offset by a 5.9% fall in electricity prices, driven by government rebates, and a 10% drop in automotive fuel prices to their lowest level since September 2022.

By RSS/Xinhua