Australia Inflation Steady At 3.4%

(RTTNews) - Australia's consumer price inflation remained stable in January, latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The monthly consumer price index posted an annual increase of 3.4 percent in January. The rate was forecast to rise to 3.6 percent. The current inflation was the lowest since November 2021.

The most significant contributors to the annual inflation were housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcohol and tobacco and insurance and financial services. Partially offsetting the annual gain was recreation and culture.

Excluding volatile items, inflation softened to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent in December.

"Annual inflation when excluding volatile items has been declining since the peak of 7.2 percent in December 2022," ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.

Capital Economics' economist Abhijit Surya said the weaker-than-expected inflation print for January all but ensures that the Reserve Bank of Australia won't hike rates any further, even if it does retain its hawkish bias at its next meeting in March.