Australia’s inflation rate slows less than expected to 3.6%, dimming hopes of interest rate relief

Economists had tipped CPI growth for the March quarter of 0.8%, and an annual inflation rate of 3.5%

Australia’s inflation rate slowed less than expected in the March quarter, dimming hopes the cost of living crunch was easing and chances of a 2024 cut in official interest rates.

The consumer price index for the first three months of 2024 was 3.6% higher than a year earlier, slowing from the 4.1% annual pace in the December quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had tipped CPI growth would drop to 3.5%.