Australia Inflation Rate

The annual inflation rate in Australia fell to 3.0% in Q3 2021 from a 12-1/2-year high of 3.8% in Q2 and compared with market estimates of 3.1%, amid continued effects of the unwinding of free childcare in 2020. Prices slowed for transport (10.4% vs 10.7% in Q2), alcohol & tobacco (4.4% vs 6.7%), furnishings (6.0% vs 16.9%), and recreation (2.3% vs 2.5%). At the same time, cost of communication fell further (-1.0% vs -1.3%). In contrast, prices went up faster for food (1.3% vs 0.7%), health (4.9% vs 4.8%), and insurance & financial services (1.1% vs 0.6%). Also, housing prices rose 1.6% after a 0.2% fall in Q2. On a quarterly basis, consumer prices went up 0.8% in Q3, the same as in Q2, on rising construction input cost due to supply disruptions and higher automotive fuel prices with the CPI's automotive fuel series hitting its highest in a half-century. RBA Trimmed Mean CPI rose 2.1% yoy in Q3, the most since Q4 2015, after a 1.6% rise in Q2.Quarter-on-quarter, the index rose 0.7%.