MNI BRIEF: Aussie Monthly CPI Rises Slow
MNI (SYDNEY) - Australia’s monthly consumer price index indicator printed at 2.7% y/y in August, in line with market expectations, while annual trimmed mean was 3.4%, down from July’s 3.8%, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will look through the headline read and focus on the trimmed mean measure, due to the impact of Federal government energy subsidies. RBA Governor Michele Bullock noted Tuesday, following the board’s decision to hold the cash rate at 4.35%, that the Reserve wants to see inflation sustainably within the 2-3% target band. (See MNI RBA WATCH: Changed Messaging Considered In Hawkish Hold)
“The falls in electricity and fuel had a significant impact on the annual CPI measure this month. When prices for some items move by large amounts, measures of underlying inflation like the CPI excluding automotive fuel, fruit and vegetables and holiday travel, and the trimmed mean can provide additional insights into how inflation is trending,” said Michelle Marquardt, head of prices statistics at the ABS.