Economic News

Drivers did not need the Australian Bureau of Statistics to tell them fuel had become more expensive. But the scale of the increase, published on 28 October 2026 in the September Consumer Price Index, is striking: automotive fuel prices rose 23.6 per cent over …

Electricity prices in the Consumer Price Index rose 12.8 per cent over the 12 months to September 2026, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The reason, the ABS said, was mainly the end of Commonwealth electricity rebates.

Every inflation release produces a headline number, and September's was eye-catching: consumer prices rose 4.3 per cent over the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. But tucked beneath it was a quieter figure that tells a different, and arguably more important, story …

Petrol bowsers have been an obvious place to look for the cause of Australia's latest inflation rise. Automotive fuel prices rose 23.6 per cent in the 12 months to September 2026, and 9.4 per cent in the month of September alone, according to the …

Fuel and electricity explain much of the goods side, while services inflation reflects domestic pressures such as labour costs, rents and demand.

For Australia's renters, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) is more than an abstract economic statistic. The rent component tracks what tenants are paying to keep a roof over their heads, and the September 2026 figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) …

It was within the 2–3 per cent target range for a period in 2024 and 2025, picked up in the second half of 2025, and has been above target since.