Key insights
- Australian CPI rose 4.6% in March, slightly below expectations, driven by fuel and housing costs due to Middle East conflict. Core inflation remained steady at 3.3%. While the data reflects global inflationary pressures, the slightly lower-than-expected print and stable core inflation suggest limited direct bearish implications for US equities. Indirectly, it highlights global inflationary pressures that could influence US Fed policy.
Investing.com-- Australian consumer price index inflation rose sharply in March amid fuel and shipping disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, although the figure was slightly below expectations as core inflation remained steady.
CPI rose 4.6% March 31, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday. The print was slightly below expectations of 4.8%, but picked up sharply from the 3.7% in the prior quarter.
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CPI grew 1.1% in March from the prior month, with transportation costs, due to higher fuel prices, being the biggest driver. This came tracking a sharp increase in global oil prices due to disruptions caused by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Core inflation, as represented by trimmed mean CPI, rose 3.3% in March, remaining steady from the prior month.
“The increase in March is the largest monthly increase since the series began in 2017, reflecting the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on fuel prices,” Sue-Ellen Luke, ABS head of prices statistics, said in a statement.
Higher housing prices also contributed to the March inflation increase.
Wednesday’s data reflected the impact of the Iran war on fuel prices and inflation. But the print also showed some steadying in underlying inflation, especially after the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates twice this year.