Inflation has eased at 7 per cent for the March quarter, down from the 7.8 per cent seen during the December quarter.

Housing prices continue to drive inflation, up 9.8 per cent year-on-year, and up 1.9 per cent from December.

Annual food inflation eased to 8.0 per cent, down from 9.2 per cent in the December quarter.

Automotive fuel prices fell 0.8 per cent for the quarter, while furnishings and household equipment drops 0.5 per cent quarter to quarter to 6.7 per cent.

Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said “CPI inflation slowed in the March quarter, with the quarterly rise being the lowest since December 2021. While prices continued to rise for most goods and services, many of these increases were smaller than they have been in recent quarters.”

The most significant contributors to this quarter’s rise were medical and hospital services (+4.2 per cent), tertiary education (+9.7 per cent), gas and other household fuels (+14.3 per cent) and domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+4.7 per cent).

“Prices for medical and hospital services typically rise in the March quarter as GPs and other health service providers review their consultation fees, and the Medicare Safety Net is reset at the start of the calendar year. This year some private health insurance premiums also increased in January, adding to the price rise for medical and hospital services,” said Marquardt.

“Tertiary education fees are also indexed at the start of the year. This quarter additional strength was seen in tertiary education as changes in student contribution bands and fees introduced in 2021 as part of the Jobs-ready Graduates Package continued to flow through to the index.”