Australian Inflation Surprises with Unexpected Jump

Australia's consumer price index (CPI) rose more than expected in July, driven by higher fuel prices and increased holiday travel expenses.

The monthly CPI jumped 1.0% month-on-month, exceeding economist forecasts of 0.8%, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on August 26.

On an annual basis, headline inflation eased to 3.5% year-on-year in July, but surpassed the consensus market forecast of 3.3%.

The trimmed mean CPI, the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) preferred measure of core inflation, rose 0.5% month-on-month, marking its largest monthly increase in a year and bringing the annualised core rate to 3.6% year-over-year.