Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator, November 2022

Nov 08, 2023

Detail

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

Detail

Four additional monthly data series have been included under the Food and non-alcoholic beverages group:

Sept 21 to Sept 22

% change

Oct 21 to Oct 22

% change

Nov 21 to Nov 22

% change

*Volatile items are Fruit and vegetables and Automotive fuel

New dwelling prices rose 17.9% in the year to November as builders passed through higher costs for labour and materials. The rate of price growth eased in November compared to the 20.4% annual rise in October. Fewer payments of government construction grants compared to November 2021 also contributed to the rise in new dwelling prices.

Rent prices increased further this month from an annual rise of 3.5% in October to 3.6% in November, reflecting a tight rental market.

Over the twelve months to November price rises were seen across all food categories. These rises reflect a range of price pressures including supply chain issues and increased input costs.

The main contributor to the annual rise was Meals out and take away foods, which rose 7.3% due to rising input costs, fresh food supply issues and labour shortages.

Fruit and vegetables rose 9.5% in the year to November. This subgroup continues to be impacted by flooding, heavy rainfall and hail in key growing areas, alongside high transport and fertiliser costs.

Food and non alcoholic beverages subgroups, Annual percentage change (%), ordered by percentage contribution to the Food and non alcoholic beverages group:

*Quarterly index, price updated in Nov (month2) – more information

Automotive fuel prices increased 16.6% in the twelve months to November, up from 11.8% in October.

The restoration of the Australian Government's fuel excise on 29 September contributed to higher prices for automotive fuel in October and early November as the increase in fuel excise started to filter through as petrol stations used up their existing fuel reserves. Average prices for unleaded petrol peaked at $2.01 in early November before falling approximately 22 cents by the end of November.

The Furniture, household equipment and services group rose 8.4% in the year to November. Higher freight and raw material costs recorded in mid 2022 contributed to price rises for furniture.

Non-durable household products contributed to the rise, driven by price increases for cleaning and maintenance products.

Holiday travel and accommodation prices rose 12.8% in the year to November, up from 3.7% in October. High jet fuel prices and strong travel demand throughout 2022, compared to COVID-19 affected 2021, have contributed to higher prices for airfares and accommodation.

In monthly terms, November's increase of 4.3% varies from the falls usually seen in November, reflecting strong consumer demand for domestic accommodation and domestic and international airfares.

Analytical series Australia, Index Numbers and Percentage Change from Corresponding Month of Previous Year, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

Analytical series, Australia, Percentage Change from previous period, Weighted Average of Eight Capital Cities

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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 Illustrated in the image below and detailed in Table 1 below.

This infographic explains the frequency with which data is collected by the proportion of the quarterly CPI basket that these represent. Conceptually, the monthly CPI indicator will include all the items of the quarterly CPI basket, however, not all items in the basket will be updated with new prices each month. Where prices are not collected in a particular month, prices collected in previous months will be ‘carried forward’ (see appendix 2 for further explanation). Where prices are updated in month 2 or 3 of any given quarter, the new prices data will not be used to revise previous months in the quarter. For this reason, the average of the index in the three months for the monthly CPI indicator will not equal the index of the quarterly CPI. Including the data collected once per year: • Month 1 (January, April, July and October months) will include up-to-date price information for 62 per cent of the weight of the quarterly CPI. • Month 2 (February, May, August and November months) will include up-to-date price information for 73 per cent of the weight of the quarterly CPI. • Month 3 (March, June, September and December months) will include up-to-date price information for 71 per cent of the weight of the quarterly CPI. All eleven groups are included in each month, with the following breakdown: Month 1: 43% monthly data, 9% quarterly data, 10% annual data, 38% data not updated (carried forward) Month 2: 43% monthly data, 20% quarterly data, 10% annual data, 27% data not updated (carried forward) Month 3: 43% monthly data, 18% quarterly data, 10% annual data, 29% data not updated (carried forward) The eleven groups of the CPI basket are: Housing Food and non-alcoholic beverages Transport Alcohol and tobacco Furnishings, household equipment and services Recreation and culture Health Insurance and financial services Education Clothing and footwear Communication

* 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.

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