Figures released this morning, Wednesday, October 29, during the Asian session by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that consumer price inflation rose to 3.5% year-on-year in September, the highest level since July 2024, compared to 3% in August. This exceeded expectations of a 3.1% increase.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as fuel, fruit, vegetables, and travel, rose to 3.7% in September, compared to 3.4% in August.

In related news, quarterly inflation rose to 3.2% in the third quarter of this year, the largest increase in a year, compared to 2.1% in the second quarter. This exceeded expectations, which had predicted a rise to 3%, and pushed it above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target range for the first time since the second quarter of 2024.

Specifically, the most significant increase in the index in September came from the housing sector, rising 5.6% from 4.5%. The food and non-alcoholic beverages index rose 3.1%, while alcohol and tobacco prices increased by 5.5%. Transport prices rose 2.3%, following a 0.4% increase in August, and gas and fuel prices jumped 6.4% from 4.1%.