Agencies-Gaza post
Australia’s inflation to a 21-year high
The Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Wednesday revealed that Australia’s consumer price inflation rate increased to its highest since 2001, due to higher fuel and housing costs.
In the second quarter of this year, consumer price inflation rose to 6.1% annually, compared to 5.1% in the first quarter, the statistical office stated, marking the highest level since the second quarter of 2001, while critics were expecting the rate to grow in the second quarter to 6.2%.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the largest annual growth in the consumer price index since the introduction of a goods and services tax.
Marcel Tilliant, an economic analyst with Capital Economics, said although inflation rose in the second quarter, it did not reach the expected level.
This means that Australia’s Reserve Bank (Central Bank) may resort to a 50 basis point expansion in the key interest rate at next week’s meeting, rather than 75 foundation points as earlier anticipated.
