Housing and financial services lift CPI

According to the figures, the CPI rose 0.4 per cent during the quarter, following a 0.5 per cent increase in the September 2015 quarter.

Furthermore, the figures showed a 1.7 per cent rise in the CPI between the December 2014 quarter and the December 2015 quarter.

The insurance and financial services sector CPI rose by 0.8 per cent during the December 2015 quarter, and by 1.8 per cent in the 12 months to the December 2015 quarter.

Meanwhile, the housing sector CPI experienced a slight increase of 0.1 per cent, which the ABS noted was its weakest movement since the March 1998 quarter, due to rises in rent prices (+0.2 per cent) and subdued dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers (+0.1 per cent).

Commenting on the figures, ANZ said they were “broadly in line with expectations and reinforce that inflation is neither a constraint nor a catalyst for monetary policy action”.

[Related: Poor productivity continues to inhibit GDP growth]