Jolted by fuel and housing costs, Australia's consumer price index (CPI) rose further above central bank targets in March, possibly setting the stage for more rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
The nation's CPI rose 4.6% on year in March, a jump up from the 3.7% rate logged in February, and striking the highest level since September of 2023, reported the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday.
Australia's CPI rose 1.1% in March from February alone, added the ABS.
The RBA, which has a 2% to 3% annual inflation target band on the CPI, has already raised rates twice this year to cool off inflation.
Australian consumers faced housing costs up 6.5% on year in March, while transport bills rose 8.9% on year, due in large part to a 32.8% surge in automotive fuel prices, said ABS.
However, another metric of consumer prices, the trimmed mean annual inflation rate, was unchanged at 3.3% in the 12 months to March, said the ABS. In general, the trimmed mean rate removes outliers on the low and high end of price movements.
The RBA is slated to meet next week to again ponder monetary policy.
As of Tuesday, even before the ABS inflation report, the RBA Rate Tracker estimated the odds at 76% that the central bank would raise rates to 4.35% from 4.10%.