MEDIA RELEASE
31 July 2019	Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6 per cent in the June quarter 2019, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures. This follows no movement (0.0 per cent) in the March quarter 2019.

The most significant price rises in the June quarter 2019 were automotive fuel (+10.2 per cent), medical and hospital services (+2.6 per cent), international holiday travel and accommodation (+2.7 per cent) and tobacco (+2.4 per cent).

Prices for fruit and vegetables (-2.8 per cent), domestic holiday travel and accommodation (-1.5 per cent) and electricity (-1.7 per cent) fell this quarter.

ABS Chief Economist, Bruce Hockman said: "Automotive fuel prices rose 10.2 per cent in the June quarter 2019. This rise had a significant impact on the CPI, contributing half of the 0.6 per cent rise this quarter. Automotive fuel prices returned to levels recorded in late 2018 after falling 8.7 per cent in the March quarter 2019."

The CPI rose 1.6 per cent through the year to the June quarter 2019, after increasing 1.3 per cent through the year to the March quarter. Mr Hockman said: "Annual growth in the CPI continues to be subdued due to falls in a number of administered prices. Through the year, utility prices have fallen 0.2 per cent and child care has fallen 7.9 per cent following the introduction of the Child Care Subsidy package in July 2018."

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