The Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded no movement (0.0 per cent) in the March quarter 2019, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures. This follows a rise of 0.5 per cent in the December quarter 2018.
The March quarter 2019 CPI was a result of price rises in a number of goods and services being fully offset by a number of price falls. This was consistent across most of the capital cities.
The most significant rises in the March quarter were vegetables (+7.7 per cent), secondary education (+4.2 per cent) and motor vehicles (+2.4 per cent). Drought and adverse weather conditions continue to reduce the supply of a selection of fruits and vegetables.
These rises were offset by falls in automotive fuel (-8.7 per cent), domestic holiday, travel and accommodation (-3.8 per cent) and international holiday, travel and accommodation (-2.1 per cent). Lower world oil prices at the end of 2018 saw automotive fuel prices fall 6.1 per cent in January, before rising in February and March, 4.2 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively.
The CPI rose 1.3 per cent per cent through the year to the March quarter 2019, after increasing 1.8 per cent through the year to the December quarter 2018.
