Australia’s monthly CPI rose from 2.1% yoy to 2.3% yoy in November, slightly above market expectations of 2.2%. Inflation excluding volatile items and holiday travel jumped from 2.4% yoy to 2.8% yoy. However, trimmed mean CPI, a measure closely watched by RBA, declined from 3.5% to 3.2%, signaling some relief in underlying inflationary pressures.
The rise in CPI was influenced by the reduced impact of government electricity rebates compared to previous months. According to Michelle Marquardt, head of prices statistics at ABS, Electricity prices were -21.5% lower in November, compared to a -35.6% annual fall in October.” Excluding government rebates, electricity prices would have declined by only -1.7% over the same period.
