Inflation has surged in the September quarter with consumer prices rising at an annual pace of 3.2 per cent, up from 2.1 per cent in the June quarter.

That level of inflation came in much hotter than economists were expecting.

"The CPI rose 1.3 per cent in the September 2025 quarter, which is the highest quarterly rise since March 2023," said Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics.

"The largest contributor to this quarterly movement was electricity costs, which rose by 9 per cent."

The "trimmed mean" measure of inflation, which is the Reserve Bank's preferred measure of underlying inflation, also rose from 2.7 per cent to 3 per cent. Loading

See Full Page