The consumer price index (CPI) of Australia has recorded a rise of 4.3 per cent in the 12 months leading up to November 2023. This marks a decrease from the 4.9 per cent increase noted in October and represents the smallest annual increase since January 2022, as per the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Michelle Marquardt, the head of prices statistics at ABS, highlighted this trend as a notable easing of inflationary pressures. The primary drivers of the November annual increase were identified as housing (up 6.6 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 4.6 per cent), insurance and financial services (up 8.8 per cent), and alcohol and tobacco (up 6.4 per cent).

When volatile items are excluded, the annual rise in November stands at 4.8 per cent, a decrease from the 5.1 per cent rise in October. This indicates a more stable underlying inflation rate.

Electricity prices saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 10.7 per cent, influenced by hikes in wholesale prices following annual price reviews in July 2023. However, the impact of this increase was somewhat mitigated by the introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates for eligible households, also initiated in July. Without these rebates, electricity prices would have seen a staggering 19.0 per cent increase since June 2023, ABS said in a press release.

Automotive fuel prices exhibited a contrasting trend, with a 2.3 per cent rise over the 12 months to November, a significant decrease from the 8.6 per cent annual increase recorded in October. In a monthly comparison, automotive fuel prices dropped by 0.5 per cent, correlating with a decline in crude oil prices to a five-month low.

"Annual inflation for Automotive fuel has fallen from 19.7 per cent in September 2023 to 2.3 per cent in November. This has been a significant contributor to the lower annual rise in the monthly CPI indicator over the past two months," Marquardt said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)

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