In briefAustralia's headline inflation rate fell sharper than expected in April thanks to a decline in petrol prices.The latest figure won't necessarily stop the RBA from upping the cash rate again this year.Australia's headline inflation rate fell more sharply than expected in April, but a rise in the underlying measure will be cause for concern at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).A decline in petrol prices as a result of the government's fuel excise cut caused the increase in the annual consumer price index to fall to 4.2 per cent, from 4.6 per cent in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.Forecasters had been expecting the headline inflation rate to fall to 4.4 per cent.However, the trimmed mean, which omits volatile items and gives a better sense of the underlying pulse, edged up to 3.4 per cent, in line with the consensus of forecasters.Headline inflation fell from 4.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent in in April. Source: SBS NewsNews that makes senseYour trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.While the slightly softer-than-expected reading won't add to the case for more rate hikes, the RBA board will be wary not to take too much confidence out of one month of data.Disruptions from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to impact global supply chains and the underlying impulse of price pressures, excluding the temporary easing in fuel prices, was still growing.Fuel prices fell 7 per cent in the space of one month, after a spike of 32.8 per cent in March.But fuel prices were still 23.5 per cent higher than in February, before the impact of the Middle East conflict, ABS head of prices statistics Sue-Ellen Luke said."The impact of higher oil prices has also been seen in products and services with high freight and logistics costs, such as parcel delivery and building materials," she said."This is reflected in price increases of 12.4 per cent for postal services and 4.7 per cent for new dwelling construction compared to 12 months ago."Housing inflation will be a key focus of the central bank, given it tends to be an early indicator of overall inflation pressures in the economy, AMP economist My Bui said before the release.Housing costs rose 6.3 per cent annually, with rents up 3.5 per cent, amid ongoing low vacancy rates across the capital cities.Following a weaker-than-expected employment result for April, markets have scaled back bets on a rate rise.Traders were still expecting at least one more 0.25 per cent increase by the end of 2026.Construction work done rose 3.4 per cent to $83.4 billion in the first three months of the year, the ABS also revealed on Wednesday, in a sign the economy was still holding up despite two interest rate hikes and the early impacts of the Iran war.Steven Dooley, head of market insights at payments provider Convera, said Wednesday's data reinforces the picture that inflation in Australia is not cooling at the pace policymakers or households would like. "Housing and transport costs are still doing most of the heavy lifting, rising 6.3 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively over the year, while domestic price pressures remain sticky," he said."It matters because much of this inflation is driven by parts of the economy, like rents and wages, that respond slowly to interest rate increases. "In other words, the bulk of the inflation problem is now in the categories that the Reserve Bank's tools work on least effectively."Speaking to reporters in Canberra on Wednesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the data was “encouraging” but added inflation was still too high."We've had an inflation challenge in our economy, which is made worse by the war in the Middle East, and what we see in these numbers is some encouraging numbers, but also we understand that inflation is too high in these numbers, and that’s why it’s a big focus of the government," Chalmers said.He added the cut to the fuel excise wasn’t "the whole story", with a "welcome moderation in food and in rents as well".For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.