Australia: Inflation picks up in December from November
Latest reading: Consumer prices increased 3.7% on a year-on-year basis in December, following a 3.5% increase in the prior month and above the Central Bank’s target of 2.0–3.0%.
Relative to the previous month’s figures, price pressures were higher for housing in December (+5.5% on a year-on-year basis vs +5.2% in November). In contrast, there were reduced price pressures for transportation (+1.7% vs +2.7% in November) and clothing (+3.4% vs +4.3% in November).
Finally, consumer prices increased 0.96% in December in month-on-month terms, following a 0.02% increase in the previous month.