CANBERRA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Australia's annual rate of inflation rose to 4 percent in August, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the consumer price index rose by 4 percent in the 12 months to August, up from 3.5 percent in July.
The annual trimmed mean, a measure of underlying inflation, remained steady at 3.6 percent for the third consecutive month.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that economists were generally expecting CPI growth to hit 4.1 percent in August and the trimmed mean to remain at 3.6 percent.
The ABS noted that housing prices were the biggest driver of annual inflation in the year to August, rising by 5.7 percent, while transport prices rose by 5.6 percent due to higher fuel prices.
The data was released one day after the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday raised the cash rate target from 4.35 percent to 4.60 percent, the highest level since November 2011, citing inflation caused by the AI boom and the Middle East conflict. ■