Australia inflation slows more than expected in Q2

SYDNEY  – Australian inflation slowed more than expected in the June quarter thanks to falls in the cost of holidays and petrol, suggesting less pressure for another hike in interest rates.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.8 percent in the second quarter, the smallest gain since the third quarter of 2021 and under market forecasts of 1 percent.

The annual pace slowed to 6 percent, from 7 percent, and again below forecasts of 6.2 percent. For June alone, the CPI rose 5.4 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, down from 5.5 percent in May.

A closely watched measure of core inflation, the trimmed mean, rose 0.9 percent in the June quarter, pushing the annual pace down to 5.9 percent and just under forecasts of 6 percent.