Australia January CPI outlook: underlying inflation unchanged, headline boosted by electricity

Preview: Australia’s January CPI Data

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is set to release January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures on Wednesday at 11:30am in Sydney (which corresponds to 7:30pm US Eastern time). Analysts anticipate that underlying inflation will remain resilient, even as seasonal trends may moderate the overall headline figure.

According to forecasts from both the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac, the seasonally adjusted headline CPI is projected to increase by 0.4% month-over-month. When looking at the data without seasonal adjustments, CBA predicts a 0.2% rise, while Westpac expects a 0.1% uptick—both of which align with the 0.4% seasonally adjusted result. The annual inflation rate is expected to come in between 3.6% and 3.7%, marking a slight decrease from previous readings.