Australia’s headline inflation rate in the second quarter of the year slipped to its lowest point since March 2021, coming in at 2.1% year over year, compared to 2.4% in the preceding period.
This was lower than the 2.2% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and is almost touching the lower band of the 2%-3% target set by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
On a quarter-over-quarter basis, inflation slowed to 0.7%, compared to 0.8% expected in the Reuters poll and 0.9% in the first quarter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the most significant price rises in the quarter were seen in housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages and health, although a fall in transport costs partially offset the rise.
On July 24, RBA governor Michelle Bullock said in a speech that she expected headline inflation in the June quarter “to be in the lower half of our 2%–3% target range,” while explaining that it partly reflects the ongoing effect of temporary cost-of-living relief.
