Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, February 2023

Nov 07, 2023

Detail

The monthly CPI indicator is a measure of inflation and includes statistics about prices for categories of households expenditure

Detail

The Electricity series in the monthly CPI indicator has been updated with monthly prices from October 2021 onwards. No changes have been made to the Electricity series prior to October 2021. Electricity prices for periods prior to October 2021 are updated quarterly in month 3 with carry forward imputation used in the months where prices were not updated.

The inclusion of this new monthly Electricity series has resulted in revisions to the monthly CPI indicator dating back to October 2021. The revision is consistent with advice provided by the ABS, ‘it should be noted that the monthly CPI indicator may be routinely subject to revision, in contrast to the quarterly CPI which is only revised in exceptional circumstances’.

The new monthly Electricity series will be used to compile the Electricity series in the quarterly CPI from the March quarter 2023 onwards. There will be no revisions to the quarterly CPI.

Dec 21 to Dec 22

% change

Jan 22 to Jan 23

% change

Feb 22 to Feb 23

% change

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

The monthly CPI indicator annual movement rose 6.8% in February, down from 7.4% in January.

The annual movement for CPI excluding volatile items rose 6.9%, down from 7.5% in January. This series excludes Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel.

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

New dwelling prices rose 13.0% in the year to February as builders passed through higher costs for labour and materials. Fewer grant payments from the Federal Government's HomeBuilder program and similar state-based housing construction grants also contributed to the rise in new dwelling prices over the year.

The rate of price growth has continued to ease compared to the record high increase of 21.7% in July 2022. This reflects a softening in new demand and improvements in the supply of materials.

Rent prices increased 4.8% in the year to February, reflecting low vacancy rates and a tight rental market.

Electricity prices rose 17.2% over the twelve months to February. The full impact of annual price reviews in July 2022 took time to flow through to many households as electricity rebates have reduced electricity bills in Western Australia, ACT, Queensland and Tasmania between July and December 2022. On a monthly basis, electricity prices were flat in February.

Over the twelve months to February, Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 8.0%, with price rises seen across all categories. These increases reflect price pressures from higher input costs such as wages, freight, and supply disruptions.

The main contributors were broad based with price rises in restaurant and takeaway meals and groceries.

*Quarterly index, price updated in Feb (month 2) – more information

Meat and seafood prices rose 3.3% over the year to February, down from the 5.1% annual rise in January. While high input costs continue to put upward pressure on prices, increases in production has seen the annual price ease from the December 2022 peak of 8.4%.

Annually, Fruit and vegetable prices rose 5.8% in February, up from 5.1% in January. Prices continue to be impacted by produce shortages caused by floods in key growing areas in 2022, alongside higher transport and input costs.

Holiday travel and accommodation rose 14.9% in the year to February, down from 17.8% in January. High demand continues to impact prices for both Domestic and International holiday travel and accommodation despite prices easing from the 29.3% annual rise in December.

Automotive fuel prices rose 5.6% in the year to February, down from 7.5% in January. Fuel prices have eased in recent months with the annual movement falling since increasing by 43.2% in the 12 months to June 2022.

Education prices rose 5.6% in the year to February, the highest rise in five years. Tertiary education prices rose due to higher indexation than previous years and the changes to course fees from the Job-ready Graduate package that commenced in 2021. The passing on of higher wages and other costs saw price rises for primary and secondary school. Preschool prices fell in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland due to government fee-relief programs for preschool and kindergarten in these states.

Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

Data explorer for the monthly CPI indicator.

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.

2022

weight (%)

2021

weight (%)

Points

Change

The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator was developed to provide inflation data at a higher frequency for use by governments, economists and the wider community. The quarterly CPI remains the principal measure of household inflation.

The monthly CPI indicator is derived using available data from the quarterly CPI. The ABS collects prices for the CPI in a range of frequencies including monthly, quarterly, and annual. The frequency of price collection is determined by how often prices change. Where price change occurs frequently, such as for food and petrol, monthly price data is collected. Where price change is less frequent, such as for restaurant meals and hairdressers, price data is available quarterly. In some cases, prices are collected once per year where it is known prices only change annually. This is the case for some education fees, property rates and private health insurance.

For this reason, the composition of the monthly CPI basket varies across the three months of the quarter, details of the monthly coverage composition are detailed in Table 1 below.

* n.e.c Not elsewhere classified

Monthly CPI indicator rose 6.8% in the year to August, 29 September 2022

Introducing a monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator for Australia, 16 August 2022

Introducing a monthly CPI indicator, 16 August 2022

ABS to release new monthly CPI Indicator, 10 August 2022

New data source

What the CPI Rents series measures

Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis.

Consistent with existing policy, the ABS does not comment on the use (or otherwise) of the price indexes we publish. However, it should be noted that the monthly CPI indicator may be routinely subject to revision, in contrast to the quarterly CPI which is only revised in exceptional circumstances.

Use of Price Indexes in Contracts sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) specific to the monthly CPI indicator can be found in the Information paper: Introducing a monthly CPI indicator for Australia FAQs

In addition, the Frequently Asked Questions page has answers to a number of common questions to do with price indexes and the quarterly Consumer Price Index in particular.

We can provide customised data to meet your requirements

We can provide access to detailed, customisable data on selected topics