The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator rose by 3.6% in the 12 months leading to April, a slight increase from the 3.5% recorded in March, ABS reported.
Michelle Marquardt (pictured above), ABS head of prices statistics, highlighted the main drivers of this rise.
“Annual inflation increased to 3.6% this month, up from 3.5% in March,” Marquardt 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.”
The sectors contributing most significantly to the annual increase were housing (+4.9%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.8%), alcohol and tobacco (+6.5%), and transport (+4.2%).
Marquardt explained the impact of volatile items on the CPI.
“CPI inflation is often impacted by items with volatile price changes like automotive fuel, fruit and vegetables, and holiday travel,” she said. “It can be helpful to exclude these items from the headline CPI to provide a view of underlying inflation.
“When excluding these volatile items from the monthly CPI indicator, the annual rise to April was steady at 4.1%. Annual inflation excluding volatile items remains higher than for the monthly CPI indicator.”
Housing costs rose by 4.9% over the year, driven by a 7.5% increase in rents due to a tight rental market and low vacancy rates. New dwelling prices also saw a 4.9% increase as builders passed on higher labour and material costs.
Electricity prices rose by 4.2% over the year.
“Excluding the rebates, electricity prices would have risen 13.9% in the 12 months to April 2024,” Marquardt said, referring to the energy bill relief fund rebates that mitigated some of the price hikes.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 3.8%, with all categories except meat and seafood contributing to the rise. The largest annual increase in fruit and vegetable prices since April 2023 was noted, due to unfavorable weather conditions affecting supply.
Transport costs rose by 4.2%, primarily driven by a 7.4% increase in automotive fuel prices. Fuel prices lifted 2.2% in April, the third consecutive monthly rise, ABS reported.
For more details, read Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, April 2024.
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