Inflation climbed to 3 percent in August, its highest level in a year, as household electricity bills spiked following the expiry of state-based rebates.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows power costs jumped 25 percent over the past 12 months, particularly in Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania where subsidies rolled off.
The rise in energy bills was the single biggest driver of the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI), released just days before the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meets to review interest rates.
The cash rate is widely expected to remain on hold at 3.6 percent.
Michelle Marquardt, the ABS’s head of price statistics, said the August result marked “the highest annual inflation rate since July 2024,” with annual CPI rising from 2.8 percent in July to 3 percent.
Food and Tobacco Add Pressure
Grocery prices also edged higher, rising 3 percent in the year to August. Meat and seafood climbed 2.9 percent, while fruit and vegetable prices slowed to 1.1 percent growth after earlier spikes.
Tobacco was another major contributor, up 13 percent in the month and lifting the broader alcohol and tobacco category by 6 percent compared with a year earlier.
Marquardt noted these categories, together with energy, explained much of the uptick in headline inflation.
