2021.10.2705:48:00UTC+00Australia Core Inflation Accelerates More Than Expected

Australia's core inflation accelerated more than expected in the third quarter, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The weighted median measure of core inflation accelerated to 2.1 percent from 1.6 percent in the second quarter. The expected rate was 1.8 percent. This was the strongest inflation since 2015.

On a monthly basis, the underlying measure gained 0.7 percent versus the forecast of 0.5 percent.

Trimmed mean inflation also increased to 2.1 percent from 1.6 percent. Both trimmed and weighted measures recorded their first annual movements above 2 percent since the September 2015 quarter.

Meanwhile, consumer price inflation slowed to 3 percent in the September quarter from 3.8 percent in the prior quarter.

On a quarterly basis, consumer prices logged a steady growth of 0.8 percent.

The most significant price rises in the September quarter were new dwellings and automotive fuel, Head of Prices Statistics at the ABS, Michelle Marquardt said.

Construction input costs such as timber increased due to supply disruptions and shortages, said Marquardt. Combined with high levels of building activity, this saw price increases passed through to consumers.

The decline in headline inflation in the third quarter was entirely driven by base effects, Ben Udy, an economist at Capital Economics, said. The strong rise in underlying inflation will keep pressure on the RBA to keep reducing monetary stimulus.

The economist reiterated that the first-rate hike will happen in early-2023.