CANBERRA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Australia's annual rate of inflation slowed to 3.5 percent in the year to July, official figures have shown.
According to data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday, the consumer price index (CPI), the headline measure of inflation in Australia, rose by 3.5 percent in the 12 months to July, down from 3.8 percent in the year to June.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the figures were encouraging.
"What these numbers show today is that we're making welcome and encouraging progress in the fight against inflation," he told reporters.
"We'd like inflation to fall further and faster and we expect it to."
The Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported that economists had expected the annual rate of inflation to fall to 3.3 percent in July.
The ABS identified a 4.0 percent increase in housing prices between July 2023 and July 2024 and rises in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.8 percent), alcohol and tobacco (7.2 percent) and transport (3.4 percent) as the biggest drivers of inflation.
Fruit and vegetable prices rose by 7.5 percent in the year to July compared to 3.6 percent in the 12 months to June. The ABS said it was the largest annual rise in fruit and vegetable prices since December 2022, attributing the spike to higher prices for strawberries, grapes, broccoli and cucumber.
Electricity prices fell 5.1 percent in the year to July compared to a rise of 7.5 percent in the 12 months to June as new federal and state government rebates took effect. ■
