Millions of Australians with mortgages may find relief as inflation figures for the June quarter have come in lower than anticipated. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday revealed that headline inflation slowed to 0.6% in the June quarter, a decrease from the 1.4% recorded in the March quarter.
The consumer price index has now fallen to 3.8% on an annual basis, down from 4% in the previous period. The Reserve Bank of Australia's preferred measure, core inflation, also known as the trimmed mean, remained steady at 0.8% for the June quarter and registered 3.6% annually.
Prior to the release of these figures, market indicators suggested a lower probability of an immediate interest rate increase. Pricing data from Bloomberg had indicated a 19% likelihood of a rate hike in August. The subdued inflation data could influence the Reserve Bank of Australia's upcoming monetary policy decisions.