Australia Inflation Rises In November

Australia's consumer price inflation accelerated in November largely due to the timing of electricity rebate, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Headline inflation rose to 2.3 percent in November from 2.1 percent in October. Inflation was slightly above economists' forecast of 2.2 percent.

However, annual trimmed mean inflation eased to 3.2 percent from 3.5 percent in October.

"Annual trimmed mean inflation remains higher than CPI inflation as it removed large price falls for electricity and automotive fuel," ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.

In some states and territories, households received two rebate payments in October in lieu of not receiving a payment in July, Marquardt said. From November, most households received one payment. As a result, electricity prices decreased 21.5 percent in November from a year ago, which was slower than the 35.6 percent annual fall in October.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is unlikely to pay much heed to the slight pickup in headline inflation, Capital Economics' economist Abhijit Surya said.

With underlying price pressures showing clear signs of cooling, there is a growing risk that the Bank will cut rates sooner than May, the economist noted.

Another report from ABS showed that the number of job vacancies increased for the first time since May 2022. Vacancies grew 4.2 percent in November from August. However, it was 10.3 percent lower than in November 2023.