Aussie core inflation up, eases fears of interest rate cut

Sydney

A PICK-UP in core consumer prices in Australia has reduced the likelihood of a near-term interest rate cut, even as official statistics released on Wednesday showed that plunging oil prices slowed inflation in the last three months of 2014.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter and 1.7 per cent for the year to December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. That compares with 0.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent in the previous three months.