Australia Inflation Rate Steady at 2.4%

Australia’s annual inflation rate held steady at 2.4% in Q1 2025, unchanged from the previous quarter and above market expectations of 2.3%.

Nevertheless, it remains the lowest level since Q1 2021.

Services inflation eased to 3.7%—the softest since Q2 2022, down from 4.3% in Q4, driven by slower increases in rents and insurance costs.

However, this was offset by a rise in goods inflation (1.3% vs 0.8%), largely due to electricity prices surging 16.3% after a 17.3% decline, following the second-round expansion of energy bill rebates to include all households.

Food inflation also picked up (3.2% vs 3%), driven by higher costs for meat, seafood, fruits, and vegetables.

On a quarterly basis, consumer prices rose 0.9%, above the expected .8% rise, and marking the largest increase in three quarters.

Meanwhile, the RBA’s trimmed mean grew 2.9% year-on-year, the slowest pace since Q4 2021, matching forecasts and easing from 3.2% in the prior period.