00:00Well, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that annual headline inflation rose in August,
00:08but underlying inflation remained stable.
00:11Headline inflation was up 0.4% in August compared to 1% in July.
00:17In the year to August, headline inflation was 4%. This compares to 3.5% in July.
00:23Trim mean inflation was 0.2% in August, which was down from 0.5% in July.
00:30In annual terms, it was steady at 3.6%.
00:34These numbers confirm that the overwhelming reason why inflation went up in August in headline terms was higher global oil
00:43prices.
00:44In fact, all of the increase in annual headline inflation was from a combination of higher fuel costs
00:51and the unwinding of last year's energy rebates.
00:56It's also important to remember that today's increase in annual headline inflation comes after four consecutive months of moderation.
01:06The re-escalation of the war in the Middle East is pushing up fuel costs.
01:10It's pushing up inflation and interest rates right around the world,
01:14and these numbers show that Australia is not immune from that.
01:18Inflation increased in most major advanced economies in August.
01:22Most have had a rate rise this month, and all are expecting more to come.
01:27We know that Australians are under pressure,
01:30and we know that rising global inflation and interest rates are making this harder.
01:35So in the face of all of this heightened global instability,
01:39it was encouraging to see underlying inflation moderate in the month-to-month figures.
01:47In monthly terms, headline inflation more than halved,
01:51and underlying inflation halved.
01:55It is the case that today's result was below the median market expectation,
02:00but consistent with the increases we've seen in inflation around the world.
02:05We already had an inflation challenge in our economy,
02:08but the war in the Middle East is making it worse,
02:11and that's why from an economic point of view,
02:14the end of the war in the Middle East can't end soon enough.
02:19Inflation is still too high in our economy.
02:22That's why it's so important that we are managing the budget in a responsible way.
02:26We're providing cost of living relief in an affordable and ongoing way,
02:31via tax cuts and boosts to bulk billing and in other ways.
02:34And we're also dealing with some of the long-standing economic challenges in our economy
02:39around productivity and the like.
02:42So today's figures show annual headline inflation was up,
02:46underlying inflation in annual terms was stable,
02:50but in the month-to-month comparison,
02:52both underlying and headline inflation at least halved
02:56when you compare July to August.
02:59It did come in lower than expected, but it is still too high,
03:03and that's why our responsible economic management continues to be really important.
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