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Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator

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The monthly CPI indicator is a measure of inflation and includes statistics about prices for categories of households expenditure

Reference period
November 2023
Released
10/01/2024

Key statistics

  • The monthly CPI indicator rose 4.3% in the 12 months to November.
  • The most significant price rises were Housing (+6.6%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+4.6%), Insurance and financial services (+8.8%) and Alcohol and tobacco (+6.4%).

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities, annual movement
 Sep 22 to Sep 23 % changeOct 22 to Oct 23 % changeNov 22 to Nov 23 % change
All groups monthly CPI5.64.94.3
Food and non-alcoholic beverages4.75.34.6
 Bread and cereal products8.98.58.3
 Meat and seafood1.71.80.2
 Dairy and related products8.07.86.1
 Fruit and vegetables-5.41.00.7
 Food products n.e.c.6.86.26.6
 Non-alcoholic beverages4.93.45.4
Alcohol and tobacco5.86.66.4
 Alcohol5.04.54.2
 Tobacco7.510.410.5
Clothing and footwear-0.1-1.5-0.9
 Garments-2.2-1.7-0.4
Housing7.26.16.6
 Rents7.66.67.1
 New dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers4.94.75.5
 Electricity18.010.110.7
 Gas and other household fuels12.713.012.9
Furnishings, household equipment and services2.30.4-0.3
Health5.46.35.2
Transport9.45.93.6
 Automotive fuel19.78.62.3
Communications1.21.82.4
Recreation and culture3.52.71.2
 Holiday travel and accommodation1.91.3-0.3
Education4.84.84.8
Insurance and financial services8.68.68.8
CPI analytical series   
 Seasonally adjusted5.64.84.4
 CPI excluding volatile items** and holiday travel5.55.14.8
 Annual Trimmed mean5.45.34.6

** = Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Monthly Overview

The monthly CPI indicator rose 4.3% in the 12 months to November, down from the rise of 4.9% in October.

The annual movement for the monthly CPI indicator excluding volatile items and holiday travel rose 4.8% in November, down from the rise of 5.1% in October. This series excludes Fruit and vegetables, Automotive fuel, and Holiday travel and accommodation.

Annual trimmed mean inflation was 4.6% in November, down from the rise of 5.3% in October.

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

New dwellings and Rents

New dwelling prices rose 5.5% in the 12 months to November. While the rate of price growth has eased steadily since the 21.7% recorded in July 2022, the annual movement was higher this month compared to the 4.7% annual movement in October. This increase reflects higher labour costs and material costs remaining elevated.

Rent prices increased 7.1% in the 12 months to November 2023, up from 6.6% in October. In monthly terms, Rent prices rose 0.7% in November, following a 0.4% fall in October. Changes to Commonwealth Rent Assistance from 20 September increased the maximum rate available for rent assistance by 15%, in addition to the regular biannual indexation. The increase in rent assistance reduced the out-of-pocket rent costs for eligible tenants in September and October. Excluding these changes to rent assistance, Rents would have risen 8.8% over the 12 months to November.

Electricity and Gas

Electricity prices rose 10.7% in the 12 months to November 2023, up from a rise of 10.1% in October. Gas and other household fuel prices rose 12.9% in the 12 months to November 2023, slightly down from a rise of 13.0% in October. The rise in utility prices continue to reflect an increase in wholesale prices from annual price reviews in July 2023. 

In monthly terms, Electricity prices rose 0.4% and Gas and other household fuel prices rose 2.3% in November 2023. 

The Electricity and Gas and other household fuels series were updated with monthly prices from October 2021 onwards. Annual movements prior to October 2022 are calculated using base periods where prices were updated quarterly in month 3, with carry forward imputation used in the months where prices were not updated.

Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates introduced from July 2023 reduced electricity bills for concession households in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra and for all households in Brisbane and Perth.

Rebates for newly eligible households in Melbourne were introduced in November 2023.

Electricity prices have risen 8.8 per cent since June 2023. Excluding the Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates, Electricity prices would have increased 19.0 per cent over this period.

The following graph shows the Electricity series including and excluding government electricity rebates.

June 2022, index = 100

  • a) Introduction of the WA $400 household electricity credit
  • b) Introduction of the ACT $50 rebate for concession households
  • c) Introduction of the QLD $175 Cost of Living rebate
  • d) Introduction of the TAS $119 Winter Bill Buster electricity credit
  • e) Introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund (EBRF) for concession households in NSW, SA, TAS, NT and ACT, and for all households in QLD and WA. Introduction of additional ACT $50 rebate for concession households.
  • f) Introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund for concession households in VIC
  • g) Introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund for newly eligible households in in NSW, SA, TAS, NT and ACT.
  • h) Introduction of the Energy Bill Relief Fund for newly eligible households in in VIC.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 4.6% in the 12 months to November, down from a rise of 5.3% in October. The main contributors were Meals out and take away foods (+5.7%), Food products n.e.c. (+6.6%) and Bread and cereal products (+8.3%). Meat and seafood (+0.2%) prices eased in the 12 months to November, down from a rise of 1.8% in October, as increased supply of lamb and beef led to lower prices. 

In monthly terms, Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 0.8%. Fruit and vegetable prices rose 2.1% in the month of November, due to recent poor weather conditions in key growing regions. 

Insurance

In annual terms, Insurance prices rose 16.3% in November, up from 14.7% in October 2023. This is the highest annual price movement since the beginning of the monthly CPI indicator. Higher reinsurance and natural disaster costs contributed to higher premiums for house, home contents and motor vehicle insurance.

Automotive fuel

Automotive fuel prices rose 2.3% in the 12 months to November, down from a rise of 8.6% in October and the recent high of 19.7% in September 2023. In monthly terms, Automotive fuel prices fell 0.5% in November, following a fall of 2.9% in October. The easing of Automotive fuel prices was driven by softening in crude oil prices in recent months.

Holiday travel and accommodation

Holiday travel and accommodation prices fell 0.3% in the 12 months to November, following a rise of 1.3% in October. 

In monthly terms, Holiday travel and accommodation prices rose 2.7%, following a fall of 7.0% in October. This reflects increased demand for both domestic and international holiday travel in the lead up to the end-of-year holiday period. 

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Data explorer for the monthly CPI indicator.

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Detailed monthly data

Monthly Expenditure class data

About the monthly CPI indicator

What is the monthly CPI Indicator?

Introducing monthly indicators of underlying inflation

Articles

Measuring Rents in the CPI 

Using price indexes

Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. 

Consistent with existing policy, the ABS does not comment on the use (or otherwise) of the price indexes we publish. However, it should be noted that the monthly CPI indicator may be routinely subject to revision, in contrast to the quarterly CPI which is only revised in exceptional circumstances.

Use of Price Indexes in Contracts sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) specific to the monthly CPI indicator can be found in the Information paper: Introducing a monthly CPI indicator for Australia FAQs 

In addition, the Frequently Asked Questions page has answers to a number of common questions to do with price indexes and the quarterly Consumer Price Index in particular.

Methodology

Scope

The monthly CPI indicator is a general measure of price change for goods and services purchased by Australian households.

Geography

Monthly data is published at the national level, derived as a weighted average of the eight capital cities.

Source

Prices are collected for a range of goods and services (the CPI basket) from a variety of retailers across the eight capital cities.

Collection method

Prices are collected in a range of frequencies including monthly, quarterly, and annually using: 

  • web-scraping
  • online and telephone collections from retailers
  • administrative data, including supermarket scanner data.

Concepts, sources and methods

Information about the data sources and methods used to compile the CPI is contained in the Consumer Price Index: Concepts, Sources and Methods.

History of changes

  • Partial update of CPI weights July 2023.
  • Monthly Gas series included June 2023.
  • Annual trimmed mean included April 2023.
  • Monthly Electricity included February 2023.
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