Australia Inflation Rises To 3.8%

(RTTNews) - Australia's consumer price inflation accelerated in December on housing and food prices, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

The consumer price index logged an annual growth of 3.8 percent in December, following November's 3.4 percent rise. Inflation was expected to rise marginally to 3.5 percent.

However, trimmed mean inflation slowed to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent in November. The largest contributor to annual inflation was housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages and recreation and culture, data showed.

Driven by the surge in electricity prices, annual goods inflation rose slightly to 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent in November.

At the same time, services inflation accelerated to 4.1 percent from 3.6 percent a month ago. The main contributors were domestic holiday travel and accommodation and rents.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose at a pace of 1.0 percent in December after remaining flat in November.

At the December meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia had retained the rate for the third straight month. At 3.6 percent, the key cash rate remains the lowest since March 2023.

JP Morgan's chief economist Ben Jarman said he expects RBA to hike its key rate by 25 basis points at its next week's meeting.