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Prices for essentials such as fuel, construction, and fresh produce all increase rapidly.
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CPI figure out for October
30 November 2022
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The monthly Consumer Price Index rose 6.9 per cent in the year to October 2022, according to the ABS, marginally lower than September’s 7.3 per cent.
However, that figure concealed large annual rises for essential items with fruit and vegetables up 9.4 per cent, automotive fuel up 11.8 per cent and new dwellings up 20.4 per cent.
“High levels of building construction activity and ongoing shortages of labour and materials contributed to the rise in new dwellings,” said Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics.
The end of the government’s fuel excise cut on 29 September saw the fuel tax rate of 46 cents per litre reinstated, lifting automotive fuel prices from a 10.1 per cent annual increase in September to 11.8 per cent.
Improved conditions for crops saw an increased supply of fruit and vegetables, which led to lower prices in October, down to 9.4 per cent from 17.4 per cent in September.
The ABS updates the expenditure weights applied to the CPI basket to ensure it remains an accurate representation of current spending by households.
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“The update to weights in October saw several changes, the most significant being international travel, which increased from 0.1 per cent of the CPI basket to 1.9 per cent,” said Ms Marquardt.
“Typically, annual updates to the weights have limited impact on the overall CPI. This year, however, the significant changes in spending patterns over 2021 and 2022 meant that the reweight had a larger impact on the CPI than usual.”
“The annual movement of the monthly CPI indicator in October, using the previous weights, would have been 7.1 per cent compared to 6.9 per cent using the new weights.”
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