A monthly estimate of inflation in the Australian economy. The report replicates the methodology used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to calculate quarterly CPI, striving to correspond closely with official government numbers. The figure is important because it acts as a timelier indicator of inflation, coming out monthly instead of the quarterly CPI figures. Released one day before interest rate decisions are made, the figure may influence RBA considerations for rate hikes or reductions.

As with any gauge of inflation in Australia , a high value in the figure is bullish for the Australian dollar, since real inflationary pressures are usually met by the Reserve Bank of Australia with bullish rate hikes. The headline figure is the month-over-month or annualized inflation rate.

Relevance : Rarely affects markets
Release schedule : 0:00 (GMT); monthly, on the day prior to each monthly meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia Board
Source of report : The University of Melbourne - Faculty of Economics and Commerce
Web Address : http://www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/
Address of release : http://melbourneinstitute.com/research/macro/tdsec.html
AKA : TD - Securities Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge, Consumer Inflation Expectations