International
Australia's Inflation Increases 4% in Year to May
Australia's consumer price index (CPI) rose 4% in the 12 months to May, down from a 4.2% increase in the year to April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday.The largest contributor to annual inflation was housing, which rose 6.5%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport, both up 3.3%.Annual housing inflation was primarily driven by rising costs for electricity, new dwellings, and rents, while food inflation was mainly influenced by higher prices for meals out and takeaway food."Electricity costs are 21.1% higher than 12 months ago as Commonwealth and State government rebates that reduced electricity costs for households are no longer in place," said Rachael McCririck, the bureau's head of prices statistics.Trimmed mean annual inflation was 3.6% in the 12 months to May, up from 3.4% in the 12 months to April.Annual goods inflation fell to 4.2% in the year to May from 4.7% in April, while services inflation rose to 3.7% from 3.5%, per the report.Automotive fuel prices fell nearly 12% in May, after a 7% decline in April."These monthly falls include the impacts of the halving of the fuel excise on April 1 and lower world oil prices in recent weeks," McCririck added.The CPI declined by 0.1% in seasonally adjusted terms during the month of May.
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