The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.8 per cent in the September 2022 quarter and 7.3 per cent annually, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Program Manager of Prices at the ABS, Michelle Marquardt, said “This quarter’s increase matches that of last quarter and is lower than the 2.1 per cent result in March quarter this year. All three results exceed any other quarterly results since the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and underlie the highest annual increase in the CPI since 1990.”
The most significant contributors to the rise in the September quarter were new dwellings (+3.7 per cent), gas (+10.9 per cent) and furniture (+6.6 per cent).
“Labour shortages in the house construction industry, leading to rises in labour costs, contributed to the rise in new dwellings this quarter. The continuation of material shortages added further price pressure. However, the rate of price growth in new dwellings eased relative to recent quarters (+5.6 per cent and +5.7 per cent in June and March quarters), reflecting a softening in new demand and some easing in supply constraints”, Ms Marquardt said.
“Annual gas price reviews across the states and territories saw higher wholesale gas prices passed on to consumers in the September quarter. Electricity rose 3.2 per cent this quarter, with rises across the country offset by the Western Australian Government’s $400 electricity credit, and smaller credits offered by the Queensland and Australian Capital Territory Governments. Excluding the effect of these schemes, electricity would have risen 15.6 per cent in the quarter.”
Food (+3.2 per cent) prices continued to rise, driven by meals out and takeaway foods (+2.9 per cent) due to higher ingredient, wage and transportation costs. Fruit (+6.6 per cent) and vegetables (+2.9 per cent) continued to rise through the quarter reflecting high input costs and weather-damaged crops, although vegetable prices eased in the month of September.
Partially offsetting the September quarter rise was automotive fuel (-4.3 per cent), which fell in all three months of the quarter, reflecting falling crude oil prices.
Annually, the CPI rose 7.3 per cent, with new dwellings (+20.7 per cent) and automotive fuel (+18.0 per cent) the most significant contributors.
“For the second consecutive quarter, annual price inflation for new dwellings was the strongest recorded since the series commenced in 1999, as high material and labour costs mingled with high demand”, said Ms Marquardt.
“Fewer grant payments from the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder and similar state-based housing construction programs compared to the same time last year also contributed to the annual increase. Excluding the impact of the reduction in grant payments made, new dwellings would have recorded an annual rise of 17.7 per cent.”
The annual increase in the price of goods (+9.6 per cent) was the highest since 1983 and continued to rise more strongly than that of services (+4.1 per cent). The price of non-discretionary goods and services rose 8.4 per cent, while that of discretionary goods and services rose 5.5 per cent.
Underlying inflation measures reduce the impact of irregular or temporary price changes in the CPI. For the second consecutive quarter, annual trimmed mean inflation was the highest since the series commenced in 2003, increasing to 6.1 per cent, up from 4.9 per cent in the June quarter.
| All groups CPI (%) | Trimmed mean (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sep-89 | 8.0 | |
| Dec-89 | 7.8 | |
| Mar-90 | 8.7 | |
| Jun-90 | 7.7 | |
| Sep-90 | 6.1 | |
| Dec-90 | 6.9 | |
| Mar-91 | 4.8 | |
| Jun-91 | 3.3 | |
| Sep-91 | 3.1 | |
| Dec-91 | 1.5 | |
| Mar-92 | 1.7 | |
| Jun-92 | 1.2 | |
| Sep-92 | 0.8 | |
| Dec-92 | 0.3 | |
| Mar-93 | 1.2 | |
| Jun-93 | 1.8 | |
| Sep-93 | 2.2 | |
| Dec-93 | 1.8 | |
| Mar-94 | 1.5 | |
| Jun-94 | 1.8 | |
| Sep-94 | 2.0 | |
| Dec-94 | 2.6 | |
| Mar-95 | 3.7 | |
| Jun-95 | 4.5 | |
| Sep-95 | 5.1 | |
| Dec-95 | 5.1 | |
| Mar-96 | 3.8 | |
| Jun-96 | 3.1 | |
| Sep-96 | 2.1 | |
| Dec-96 | 1.5 | |
| Mar-97 | 1.4 | |
| Jun-97 | 0.3 | |
| Sep-97 | -0.4 | |
| Dec-97 | -0.3 | |
| Mar-98 | -0.1 | |
| Jun-98 | 0.7 | |
| Sep-98 | 1.4 | |
| Dec-98 | 1.5 | |
| Mar-99 | 1.2 | |
| Jun-99 | 1.0 | |
| Sep-99 | 1.8 | |
| Dec-99 | 1.9 | |
| Mar-00 | 2.8 | |
| Jun-00 | 3.1 | |
| Sep-00 | 6.1 | |
| Dec-00 | 5.8 | |
| Mar-01 | 6.0 | |
| Jun-01 | 6.1 | |
| Sep-01 | 2.5 | |
| Dec-01 | 3.1 | |
| Mar-02 | 3.0 | |
| Jun-02 | 2.8 | |
| Sep-02 | 3.2 | |
| Dec-02 | 2.9 | |
| Mar-03 | 3.3 | |
| Jun-03 | 2.6 | |
| Sep-03 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Dec-03 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| Mar-04 | 2.0 | 2.6 |
| Jun-04 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| Sep-04 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Dec-04 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| Mar-05 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| Jun-05 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| Sep-05 | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| Dec-05 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Mar-06 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| Jun-06 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Sep-06 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
| Dec-06 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| Mar-07 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| Jun-07 | 2.1 | 2.8 |
| Sep-07 | 1.8 | 2.9 |
| Dec-07 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| Mar-08 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| Jun-08 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Sep-08 | 5.0 | 4.8 |
| Dec-08 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
| Mar-09 | 2.4 | 4.1 |
| Jun-09 | 1.4 | 3.6 |
| Sep-09 | 1.2 | 3.1 |
| Dec-09 | 2.1 | 3.2 |
| Mar-10 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| Jun-10 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Sep-10 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Dec-10 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
| Mar-11 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| Jun-11 | 3.5 | 2.7 |
| Sep-11 | 3.4 | 2.5 |
| Dec-11 | 3.0 | 2.7 |
| Mar-12 | 1.6 | 2.3 |
| Jun-12 | 1.2 | 2.0 |
| Sep-12 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
| Dec-12 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| Mar-13 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
| Jun-13 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Sep-13 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Dec-13 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Mar-14 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| Jun-14 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Sep-14 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Dec-14 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
| Mar-15 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| Jun-15 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| Sep-15 | 1.5 | 2.1 |
| Dec-15 | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| Mar-16 | 1.3 | 1.7 |
| Jun-16 | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Sep-16 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Dec-16 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Mar-17 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| Jun-17 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Sep-17 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Dec-17 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Mar-18 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Jun-18 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Sep-18 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Dec-18 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Mar-19 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Jun-19 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Sep-19 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Dec-19 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Mar-20 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| Jun-20 | -0.3 | 1.2 |
| Sep-20 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Dec-20 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| Mar-21 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Jun-21 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| Sep-21 | 3.0 | 2.1 |
| Dec-21 | 3.5 | 2.6 |
| Mar-22 | 5.1 | 3.7 |
| Jun-22 | 6.1 | 4.9 |
| Sep-22 | 7.3 | 6.1 |
Today the ABS also released the first in its new series of monthly CPI indicator publications. This publication includes monthly time series from December 2017 to September 2022, along with new monthly seasonally adjusted and trimmed mean series.
In line with the quarterly CPI, the monthly indicator rose 7.3 per cent in the 12 months to September, following annual rises of 6.9 per cent in August and 7.0 per cent in July.
Ms Marquardt said, “The largest contributors in the 12 months to September were new dwellings, up 20.0 per cent, and automotive fuel, up 10.1 per cent.”
“Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rose to 9.6 per cent over the 12 months to September, up from 6.3 per cent in June. Fruit and vegetables, up 17.4 per cent, was the main contributor, and is up from an annual rise of 9.0 per cent in June.”
Intro.
Michelle Marquardt I’m the head of Prices Branch at the Bureau of Statistics.
Grab 1.
The figures that we released today showed that inflation went up by 1.8% for the September quarter. That’s the third quarter in a row where we’ve seen higher increases than any time since the GST came in, in the early 2000s.
Grab 2.
So, the main contributors to the rise in the September quarter were housing, food, and furniture. Over the three months to September, the cost of building a house rose about three and a half per cent, while gas prices were up over 11% across those three months. Electricity prices also rose in most of the states and territories, but they were strongly offset by rebates in WA, Queensland and the ACT.
Grab 3.
So, we saw prices rise across almost all of the index with the main negative movement being for fuel where we saw prices that were down just about 4% this quarter compared to last quarter, but they were still up over 18% for the year.
Grab 4.
Annually, the CPI rose 7.3%. That’s the highest increase that we’ve seen since 1990. So that is that it’s higher than at any point since 1990, including when the GST came in, in the year 2000.
Grab 5.
So, the main contributors to the annual increase in inflation were the cost of building a new home, which went up over 20% and fuel which was up over 18%.
Grab 6.
So, we’re really excited today to be releasing new monthly CPI figures. The figures that we released today showed that inflation went up by 7.3% for the 12 months up to September. That’s up a little bit from 6.9% that we saw in August. The main contributors where housing, fuel, and food.
Grab 7.
The monthly indicator includes some things that we collect monthly and some things that we collect quarterly. So, for instance, we collect fuel and food prices every month and things like electricity and gas. We collect once a quarter.
Grab 8.
So, what we found for the monthly indicator was that it went up by 7.3% for the year to September. That’s on top of increases for 6.9% and 7% for August and July respectively.
