Australia's February CPI Jumps 2.4%

The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator rose 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to February 2025, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said: 'Annual CPI inflation was slightly lower in February, after holding steady at 2.5 per cent for the previous two months.'

The largest contributors to the annual movement were Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.1 per cent), Alcohol and tobacco (+6.7 per cent), and Housing (+1.8 per cent).

When prices for some items change significantly, measures of underlying inflation (like the annual trimmed mean and CPI excluding volatile items and holiday travel) can give more insights into how inflation is trending.

'Annual trimmed mean inflation was 2.7 per cent in February 2025. This was down slightly from the 2.8 per cent inflation in January and has remained relatively stable for three months,' Ms Marquardt said.

'The CPI excluding volatile items and holiday travel measure rose 2.7 per cent in the 12 months to February, compared to a 2.9 per cent rise in the 12 months to January.'

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

Annual inflation for Food and non-alcoholic beverages was 3.1 per cent in February compared to 3.3 per cent in January, reflecting a softening in annual inflation across a number of grocery items.

Annual Housing inflation was 1.8 per cent in February, which fell from 2.1 per cent in January.

Rents rose 5.5 per cent in the 12 months to February, following a 5.8 per cent rise in the 12 months to January. This is the lowest annual growth in rental prices since March 2023, consistent with rising vacancy rates across most capital cities.

New dwelling price rises slowed to 1.6 per cent in the 12 months to February, following a 2.0 per cent rise in the 12 months to January. This is the lowest annual rise in new dwelling prices since May 2021 as project home builders offered discounts and promotional offers to entice business.

The drop in annual Housing inflation in February was driven by a fall in electricity prices due to the timing of payments of the Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates to households in Victoria.

Electricity rebates lower the price of electricity for households. In Victoria, payments of the third instalment of the Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund rebate began from 13 January 2025. As a result, some Victorian households that did not receive a rebate payment in January will instead receive two rebate payments with their next bill in April. All households billed in February received the third instalment of the Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund rebate. Overall, national average electricity prices fell 2.5 per cent in the month of February.

'Electricity prices fell 13.2 per cent in the 12 months to February, compared to an 11.5 per cent annual fall to January. Excluding all Commonwealth and State government rebates, electricity prices would have fallen 1.2 per cent in the 12 months to February,' Ms Marquardt said.

Automotive fuel prices fell 5.5 per cent in the 12 months to February, following a 1.9 per cent fall to January. In monthly terms, fuel prices rose 1.2 per cent in February.