Inflationary Pressures Evident in Latest CPI Figures

Cost pressures remain on housing, food and insurance, while only the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates kept electricity from topping the list of increases.

A general Melbourne CBD street scene in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 4, 2021. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

The latest picture of cost-of-living pressures in Australia is a mixed one.

Overall, the CPI has risen 3.4 percent in the year to January, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says is the lowest annual inflation since November 2021. Economists had predicted it would increase to 3.6 percent.