Australia Inflation Stays at 3.8% in January

Australia's annual inflation rate held steady at 3.8% in the 12 months to January 2026, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Housing remained the biggest driver, rising 6.8% annually, followed by Alcohol and tobacco at 5.0%, Education at 5.4%, and Clothing and footwear at 5.6%. Electricity surged 32.2% over the year, the largest single contributor to goods inflation. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4% in original terms and 0.5% seasonally adjusted. Trimmed mean inflation edged up to 3.4% from 3.3% in December. Among capital cities, Perth recorded the highest annual inflation at 4.9%, while Darwin saw the lowest at 3.1%. Services inflation eased slightly to 3.9%, down from 4.1% in December, due to rents rising 3.9% and medical services up 4.2%.