Inflation rises 3.6% in year to April
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The news: Inflation increased 3.6% in the year to April, running hotter than economists were expecting.
The numbers: This is the second month in a row with a small increase in annual inflation. When excluding volatile items including petrol, fruit and vegetables, and holiday travel, the underlying inflation rate remained steady at 4.1%. The Reserve Bank of Australia targets underlying inflation of 2% to 3%.
Fruit and vegetables prices had their biggest annual price jump since the same time last year, with poor weather hitting harvests.
Housing was up 4.9% in the 12 months to April, easing from 5.2% in the year to March. Rents were up 7.5%. Electricity was up 4.2%, with energy bill rebates largely offsetting higher prices from annual reviews (without these rebates electricity bills would've been up 13.9%).
Transport was up 4.2%, with automotive fuel up 7.4% over the year.
The context: Most economists were expecting the figures to show a slowing to 3.4% on an annual basis, down from 3.5% in March. The monthly data is more volatile than the quarterly figure. April included increases in health insurance premiums, as well as a period of stubbornly high petrol prices.
What they said: "Inflation has been relatively stable over the past five months, although this is the second month in a row where annual inflation has had a small increase," said ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt.
The source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
