Australian Core Inflation Quickens, Sending Currency Higher
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Australia’s core inflation rate accelerated above the middle of the central bank’s 2 percent to 3 percent annual target range last quarter, prompting traders to pare bets on another interest-rate reduction next month.
The annual trimmed mean, which diminishes sharp price swings, quickened to 2.6 percent from the third quarter, when it rose a revised 2.4 percent that was faster than previously reported, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The overall inflation rate was unchanged last quarter from the prior three months as the price of bananas plunged 46 percent.