6401.0 - Consumer Price Index, Australia, Sep 2012 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/10/2012   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All
MEDIA RELEASE
24 October 2012
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
163/2012

ABS CPI September quarter 2012 rises 1.4%

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.4% in the September quarter 2012, compared with a rise of 0.5% in the June quarter 2012.

The most significant price rises in the September quarter 2012 were for electricity (+15.3%), international holiday travel and accommodation (+6.6%), medical and hospital services (+4.5%), vegetables (+10.5%) and gas and other household fuels (+14.2%). The most significant offsetting price falls were for automotive fuel (–3.9%), motor vehicles (–1.0%), pharmaceutical products (–2.6%), domestic holiday travel and accommodation (–1.3%) and other financial services (–0.9%).

The CPI rose 2.0% through the year to the September quarter 2012, compared with a rise of 1.2% through the year to the June quarter 2012. This is the largest quarterly rise since the March quarter 2011 (+1.4%) and the largest annual rise since the December quarter 2011 (+3.0%).

On 1 July 2012, the Australian Government introduced a $23 per tonne carbon price on greenhouse emissions, to be paid directly by Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitting companies, together with compensation and incentive packages. Carbon pricing changes the relative prices of high and low emission-intensive goods. The ABS will not be able to quantify the impact of carbon pricing, compensation or other government incentives and will not be producing estimates of price change exclusive of the carbon price or measuring the impact of the carbon price.

From the September quarter 2012, the ABS harmonised the index reference periods for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) series. These series are now presented on an index reference period of 2011–12, resulting in the index numbers for each index series being reset to 100.0 for the financial year 2011–12.

Further information is available in Consumer Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6401.0).


Media Note:
Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.