Australia inflation slows sharply to two-year low in Q4 By Reuters
© Reuters. A person walks dogs through a park in front of the city skyline at sunrise in Sydney, Australia, August 28, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian consumer price inflation fell by more than expected to a two-year low in the December quarter, while a sharp slowdown in core inflation reinforced market bets the next move in interest rates would be down.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% in the fourth quarter, under market forecasts of 0.8%.
The annual pace of CPI inflation slowed to 4.1%, from 5.4%, again under forecasts of 4.3%. For December alone, the CPI rose 3.4% compared to the same month a year earlier, down sharply from 4.3% in November.
A closely watched measure of core inflation, the trimmed mean, rose 0.8% in the fourth quarter, under forecasts of 0.9%. The annual pace slowed to 4.2%, from 5.2%.
