6401.0 - Consumer Price Index, Australia, Mar 2009 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 22/04/2009   
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CAPITAL CITIES COMPARISON



ALL GROUPS

All Groups: Percentage change from previous quarter
Graph: All Groups: Percentage change from previous quarter


At the All groups level, the CPI rose in all capital cities this quarter, with the exception of Perth which fell 0.1% and Adelaide which recorded zero percentage change. Among the cities recording a positive movement, Canberra registered the highest increase with a rise of 0.4%, while all other cities were in the range of 0.1% to 0.2%.

The food group recorded the largest positive contribution in all cities with the exception of Darwin which had food as the second highest positive contributor.

At the eight capital cities level the health group was the second highest positive contributor to the quarterly movement showing increases in all cities.

The housing group was the highest positive contributor to the Darwin movement with an increase of 1.8% this quarter. Housing prices rose across all other cities rose during the quarter, making it the third most significant positive contributor to the quarterly movement.

The education group also rose across all cities, with the highest increase in Hobart where it was the second highest contributing group after food.

The financial and insurance services group was the largest negative contributor for all cities. This was followed by the transport group which also fell in all cities.

The only city to see a decrease this quarter was Perth. This decrease was mainly due to the larger decrease in transportation than seen in other cities. Perth also showed a relatively larger decrease for clothing and footwear, where most other cities recorded small price increases.

Over the twelve months to March quarter 2009, the All groups CPI rose in all capital cities with the increases ranging from 2.1% in Melbourne to 3.1% in Brisbane. The higher result in Brisbane is largely due to stronger than average rises in housing and household contents and services. In addition, the offset provided by transportation was relatively weaker compared to other cities.

CPI, All groups index numbers and percentage changes

INDEX NUMBER(a)
PERCENTAGE CHANGE
Mar Qtr 2009
Mar 2008 to Mar 2009
Dec Qtr 2008 to Mar Qtr 2009

Sydney
165.6
2.4
0.1
Melbourne
163.9
2.1
0.2
Brisbane
170.8
3.1
0.2
Adelaide
169.3
2.3
0.0
Perth
166.0
2.2
-0.1
Hobart
164.8
2.2
0.2
Darwin
163.0
2.8
0.1
Canberra
167.4
2.7
0.4
Weighted average of eight capital cities
166.2
2.5
0.1

(a) Base of each index: 1989-90 = 100.0.