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Inflation edged up in September
The cost of the drought has hit consumers’ back pocket, but not hard enough to push inflation up to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target of 2 to 3 per cent, national figures have shown.

Inflation edged up in September
The cost of the drought has hit consumers’ back pocket, but not hard enough to push inflation up to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target of 2 to 3 per cent, national figures have shown.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the consumer price index (CPI) for the September quarter, showing 0.5 per cent growth for the quarter.
This follows a rise of 0.6 per cent in the June 2019 quarter, accounting for 1.7 per cent growth through the year to the September 2019 quarter, compared with a rise of 1.6 per cent over the 12 months to June 2019 quarter.
The most significant falls in the quarter were automotive fuel, (-2 per cent), fruit (-3.1 per cent) and vegetables (-2.5 per cent).
ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman said: “Despite the price falls for fruit and vegetables this quarter, the drought is impacting on the prices for a range of food products.”
“Prices rose this quarter for meat and seafood (1.7 per cent), dairy and related products (2.2 per cent) and bread and cereal products (1.3 per cent),” Mr Hockman said.
The most significant price increases for the September 2019 quarter were international holidays, travel and accommodation (6.1 per cent), tobacco (3.4 per cent), property rates and charges (2.5 per cent) and child care (2.5 per cent)
“Annual inflation remains subdued partly due to price rises for housing-related expenses remaining low, and in some cases falling in annual terms.”
“Prices for utilities (-0.3 per cent) and new dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (-0.1 per cent) both fell slightly through the year to the September 2019 quarter, while rents (0.4 per cent) recorded only a small rise,” Mr Hockman also noted.
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