Australia inflation stays restrained, no bar to rate cuts

Sydney

AUSTRALIAN consumer prices picked up only modestly last quarter as petrol costs rebounded, while core inflation remained well restrained in an invitation to further cuts in interest rates if needed.

Wednesday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.7 per cent in the second quarter, from the first quarter when it edged up just 0.2 per cent. The annual pace of inflation ticked up to 1.5 per cent, from 1.3 per cent, but came in below expectations.