CPI up 0.6 per cent in March quarter

THE price of Australian consumer goods and services rose 0.6 per cent in the March quarter and is up 2.9 per cent annually, ABS figures report.

Consumer price index rose 0.6 per cent in the March quarter.

THE price of Australian consumer goods and services rose 0.6 per cent in the March quarter.

The consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose 2.9 per cent in the year to March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

The headline CPI was expected to rise by 0.8 per cent in the March quarter for an annual rate of 3.2 per cent, according to an AAP survey of 12 economists.

The ABS said seasonally adjusted CPI rose 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, and was up 2.9 per cent in the 12 months to March. The ABS calculates the trimmed mean and weighted median measures on behalf of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which uses them to gauge the underlying trend in inflation.

The trimmed mean CPI rose 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, for an annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent.

The weighted median CPI rose 0.6 per cent in the March quarter, for an annual rise of 2.7 per cent.

The RBA has a target range for annual inflation of two to three per cent and the latest figures could influence the central bank’s interest rate decisions in the coming 12 months.

Annual rate of inflation for Australian cities

• Sydney — 2.8%

• Melbourne — 2.8%

• Brisbane — 3.1%

• Adelaide — 2.9%

• Perth — 3.1%

• Hobart — 2.8%

• Darwin — 3.6%

• Canberra — 2.6%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics