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
October 2022
Released
30/11/2022

Key statistics

  • The monthly CPI indicator rose 6.9% in the twelve months to October.
  • The most significant price rises were Housing (+10.5%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+8.9%) and Transport (+7.4%).

What's new this month

Annual weight update of the CPI

This issue includes the introduction of updated CPI weighting patterns. A comparison between the 2021 and 2022 weights can be found in the appendix.  It should be noted that the annual reweight this year had a larger impact on the CPI than usual due to the significant changes in spending patterns over 2021 and 2022. The annual movement of the monthly CPI indicator in October, using the previous weights, would have been 7.1 per cent compared to 6.9 per cent using the new weights.

Annually re-weighting the CPI ensures that the CPI basket continues to be representative of spending by Australian households. Further details on annually re-weighting the CPI can be found in the information paper An Implementation Plan to Annually Re-weight the Australian CPI, 2017. 

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities - annual
 

Aug 21 to Aug 22

% change

Sept 21 to Sept 22

% change

Oct 21 to Oct 22

% change

All groups CPI6.97.36.9
Food and non-alcoholic beverages9.59.68.9
     Meat & seafood7.17.67.9
     Fruit & vegetables19.017.49.4
Alcohol and tobacco4.14.64.3
     Alcohol3.43.93.6
     Tobacco5.15.65.4
Clothing and footwear4.57.15.7
Housing9.510.310.5
     Rents2.42.93.5
     New dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers20.520.020.4
Furnishings, household equipment and services7.87.77.8
Health2.42.82.6
Transport8.56.87.4
     Automotive fuel15.010.111.8
Communications1.92.01.9
Recreation and culture4.15.32.3
     Holiday travel and accommodation7.912.63.7
Education4.64.54.5
Insurance and financial services3.74.24.2
CPI analytical series   
       Seasonally adjusted6.97.36.9
       Trimmed mean5.15.45.3
       All groups CPI excluding volatile items*6.26.86.4

 

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Monthly Overview

New dwellings prices driving the increase in housing

High levels of building construction activity and ongoing shortages of labour and materials continue to drive higher prices for new dwellings. The rate of price growth in September and October eased compared to the highs seen earlier this year. In annual terms, new dwelling construction prices rose 20.4% in October, considerably higher than the increase for the 12 months to October 2021 which was 5.0%.

Rent prices increased further this month from an annual increase of 2.9% in September to 3.5% in October, reflecting low vacancy rates.

Rate of food inflation eases with fall in fruit and vegetable prices

Over the twelve months to October the Food and non-alcoholic beverages group rose 8.9%. Improved growing conditions, following severe rainfall events earlier in the year, saw increased supply of fruit and vegetables, with the annual movement of 9.4% in October down from 17.4% in September.

Higher excise tax increases automotive fuel prices

Over the twelve months to October the Transport group rose 7.4% with automotive fuel prices increasing to 11.8% in October, up from 10.1% in September. The full fuel excise tax was reinstated on 29 September, increasing from 22 cents per litre to 46 cents per litre, resulting in higher prices for automotive fuel.

While automotive fuel prices remain elevated, the annual increase in October was well below the record increases seen earlier in 2022.

Holiday travel and accommodation

Holiday travel and accommodation prices rose 3.7% in the year to October, down from 12.6% in September.  Higher travel demand in 2022, compared to COVID-19 affected 2021, has seen ongoing higher price levels for airfares and accommodation. 

The monthly fall in holiday travel and accommodation was driven by the conclusion of the school holiday period and the end of the peak tourist season for travel to Europe and America. 

Data downloads

TABLE 1. Monthly CPI Indicator: All groups, Groups and select Expenditure classes

Analytical series Australia, Index Numbers and Percentage Change from Corresponding Month of Previous Year, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

TABLE 2. Monthly CPI Indicator: Select Groups, select Expenditure classes and Analytical series

Analytical series, Australia, Percentage Change from previous period, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

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Data explorer for the monthly CPI indicator.

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Appendix

Annual weight update

About the monthly CPI indicator

What is the monthly CPI Indicator?

What's price updated - monthly breakdown

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.

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