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
June 2023
Released
26/07/2023

Key statistics

  • The monthly CPI indicator rose 5.4% in the twelve months to June.

  • The most significant price rises were Housing (+7.4%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+7.0%) and Recreation and culture (+6.8%).

  • Offsetting the rise was Automotive fuel (-10.6%).

What's new this month

The Gas series in the monthly CPI indicator has been updated with monthly prices from October 2021 onwards. No changes have been made to the Gas series prior to October 2021. Gas prices for periods prior to October 2021 are updated quarterly in month 3 with carry forward imputation used in the months where prices were not updated.

The inclusion of this new monthly Gas series has resulted in revisions to the monthly CPI indicator dating back to October 2021. The revisions are consistent with advice provided by the ABS, noting 'that the monthly CPI indicator may be routinely subject to revision, in contrast to the quarterly CPI which is only revised in exceptional circumstances’.

The new monthly Gas series will be used to compile the Gas series in the quarterly CPI from the June quarter 2023 onwards. There will be no revisions to the quarterly CPI.

Partial update of CPI weights

The weights for the monthly CPI indicator are typically updated each year in October. This is to ensure the weights used in the CPI basket reflect contemporary household spending patterns. With the continued increase in Australians holidaying overseas, a partial update to the CPI weights will be implemented in July 2023. The partial update will see the weight for International holiday travel increase, with the weight for the other components in the basket adjusted to offset the increase in travel weights. The updated weights will be published as part of the July Monthly CPI indicator release on 30 August 2023. A comprehensive update to the weights for monthly CPI indicator will be implemented in January 2024. The weights will continue to be updated in January in future years.

Main features

Weighted average of eight capital cities, annual movement
 Apr 22 to Apr 23 % changeMay 22 to May 23 % changeJun 22 to Jun 23 % change
All groups monthly CPI6.7ᴿ5.5ᴿ5.4
Food and non-alcoholic beverages7.97.97.0
     Bread and cereal products11.412.810.9
     Meat & seafood4.43.82.7
     Dairy and related products14.515.115.0
     Fruit & vegetables3.52.71.0
     Food products n.e.c.11.711.510.5
     Non-alcoholic beverages9.79.26.8
Alcohol and tobacco4.84.74.6
     Alcohol5.15.05.1
     Tobacco4.34.13.8
Clothing and footwear2.0-0.4-0.7
    Garments3.5-0.6-1.2
Housing8.8ᴿ8.3ᴿ7.4
     Rents6.16.37.3
     New dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers9.28.36.6
     Electricity15.214.110.2
     Gas and other household fuels26.3ᴿ27.2ᴿ22.2
Furnishings, household equipment and services6.36.06.3
Health4.74.75.2
Transport7.10.8-0.9
     Automotive fuel9.5-8.0-10.6
Communications0.21.10.6
Recreation and culture6.43.56.8
     Holiday travel and accommodation11.97.312.9
Education5.55.55.2
Insurance and financial services6.77.88.5
CPI analytical series   
       Seasonally adjusted6.95.95.5
       CPI excluding volatile items** and holiday travel6.56.46.1
       Annual Trimmed mean6.76.16.0
  • ᴿ = Revised
  • * = Measured quarterly
  • ** = Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Monthly Overview

The monthly CPI indicator rose 5.4% in the twelve months to June, slightly lower than the rise of 5.5% in May.

The annual movement for the monthly CPI excluding volatile items and travel rose 6.1% in June, down from the rise of 6.4% in May. This series excludes Fruit and vegetables, Automotive fuel, and Holiday travel and accommodation.

Annual trimmed mean inflation was 6.0% in June, slightly lower than the rise of 6.1% in May.

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

New dwellings and Rents

New dwellings prices continue to ease while Rents recorded its largest rise since the start of the monthly series.

New dwelling prices rose 6.6% in the twelve months to June, reflecting high labour and material costs. The rate of price growth has continued to ease reflecting a softening in new demand and improvements in the supply of materials.

Rent prices increased 7.3% in the twelve months to June 2023, up from 6.3% in May, reflecting strong demand for rental properties and tight rental markets.

Electricity and Gas

Electricity prices rose 10.2% in the year to June. This reflects annual price reviews in July 2022. The full impacts of electricity price rises in July 2022 took some time to flow through to households' electricity bills due to electricity rebates in Western Australia, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania.

Gas prices rose 22.2% in the year to June, due to higher wholesale gas prices following price reviews in July 2022 and January 2023.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages

Annual prices for Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 7.0%, with price rises seen across all food categories.

The main contributor was Food products n.e.c., which rose 10.5% due to price rises for snacks and confectionary products and edible oils. Bread and cereal products rose 10.9% and Dairy and related products rose 15.0%.

In monthly terms, price falls were observed in June for Meat and seafood (-1.0%), Non-alcoholic beverages (-2.0%) and Bread and cereal products (-0.5%).

Automotive fuel

Automotive fuel prices fell 10.6% in the twelve months to June, this follows a fall of 8.0% in May. This is the strongest fall in prices since January 2021, reflecting lower global oil prices.

In monthly terms, Automotive fuel prices rose 3.8% in June.

Holiday travel and accommodation

Holiday travel and accommodation rose 12.9% in the twelve months to June, up from 7.3% in May. Demand and prices remain elevated for both Domestic and International holiday travel and accommodation. However, prices have eased since peaking in December 2022.

In monthly terms, Holiday travel and accommodation prices rose 10.9%, driven by Domestic holiday travel and accommodation. This reflects strong demand in June in the lead up to the beginning of the school holiday period.

Data downloads

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Data explorer for the monthly CPI indicator.

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Detailed monthly data

Monthly Expenditure class data

Appendix

Annual weight update

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.

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