SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian consumer price inflation dropped to a near two-year low in November and core inflation also slowed sharply, a soft result that reinforced market expectations interest rates would not need to rise any further.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed its monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose at an annual pace of 4.3% in November, down from 4.9% in October and under market forecasts of 4.4%.
A closely watched measure of core inflation, the trimmed mean, rose an annual 4.6%, down sharply from 5.3% in November. The CPI excluding volatile items and holiday travel slowed to 4.8%, from 5.1%.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Christopher Cushing)