00:00We just got the new figures from the ABS which show that inflation ticked up in September
00:07and that the numbers in today's data are still too high.
00:11Headline inflation up 4.3% in the year to the month of September compared to 4% in August.
00:18Trimmed mean was 3.6% in the year to September, was 3.5% in the year to August
00:24after the revision.
00:25In the quarterly data, headline inflation unchanged at 3.9% through the year.
00:31Trimmed mean was 3.7% compared to 3.6% in the quarter before it.
00:37Inflation has increased in every major advanced economy in September
00:42and that's why the markets are expecting rate rises in all of them.
00:47Annual inflation has been increasing more in other countries than here
00:52but we know that this doesn't make it any easier for Australian families
00:56and Australians more broadly who are under pressure.
00:59We already had an inflation challenge in our economy
01:03and the war in the Middle East is making it worse.
01:05We've seen higher oil prices driving higher inflation around the world
01:10and today's figures confirm that we are not immune from that.
01:14And that's why once again from an economic point of view
01:17the end of the war in the Middle East can't come soon enough.
01:21If you look at the specific drivers of the inflation numbers we've just received
01:27the single biggest driver of higher headline inflation was higher fuel prices.
01:33Automotive fuel was up 9.4% in the month
01:36and that makes it 23.6% higher through the year
01:41and we expect October to be that trend continued, in fact worsened.
01:47If you look at the global Brent futures price
01:50averaging $107 per barrel in October and higher today
01:55compared to $102 per barrel in September.
01:59And remember that the futures had around $70 per barrel before the conflict
02:04and $60 a barrel at the start of the year
02:07and so that does give you a sense of one of the big drivers of inflation in our economy.
02:13If you look at another interesting element of the numbers today
02:18electricity prices in the CPI fell 0.8% in the month.
02:23That means since the month of June they've fallen by 2.4%.
02:28So inflation is much lower than it was in 2022
02:33but it is still much higher than we would like.
02:35That's the reality of it.
02:37And budgets aren't the primary driver of prices in our economy
02:42but we can and intend to continue to play a helpful role
02:45in the fight against inflation.
