The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 per cent in the September quarter 2018, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures. This follows a rise of 0.4 per cent in the June quarter 2018.
The most significant rises this quarter are international holiday travel and accommodation (+4.3 per cent), tobacco (+1.8 per cent), property rates and charges (+2.3 per cent), automotive fuel (+1.4 per cent) and fruit (+2.4 per cent). The rise is partially offset by falls in child care (-11.8 per cent) and telecommunications equipment and services (-1.5 per cent).
Child care (-11.8 per cent) saw the largest fall this quarter following the introduction of the Child Care Subsidy on 2 July, which replaced the Child Care Rebate and Child Care Benefit.
Image 1: The most significant positive contributors to the CPI in the September quarter 2018 are Recreation and culture, due to international holiday travel and accommodation (+4.3 per cent); Alcohol and tobacco, due to tobacco (+1.8 per cent); Housing, due to property rates and charges (+2.3 per cent); and Transport, due to automotive fuel (+1.4 per cent). The most significant negative contributor is Furnishings, household equipment and services (-1.2%), due to child care (- 11.8%).
The CPI rose 1.9 per cent through the year to September quarter 2018, having increased 2.1 per cent through the year to the June quarter 2018.
Chief Economist for the ABS, Bruce Hockman said: “Annual growth in the CPI fell back below 2 per cent in the September quarter 2018. Modest rises in housing costs, including rents, utilities and property rates, and a fall in child care out-of-pocket expenses, saw a subdued rise in the CPI this quarter.”
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addition, this quarter marks 70 years since the beginning of the CPI series in the September quarter 1948. Two articles look back over the past 70 years of the CPI: ‘70 years of the Australian Consumer Price Index’ and ‘70 Years of Inflation in Australia’. Mr Hockman added: "The CPI is an important macro-economic indicator that impacts the lives of all Australians. These two articles provide a history of the ABS's measurement of the CPI and how inflation has evolved in Australia over the past 70 years".