Podcast Episode: Prices cool quicker than anticipated, as the economy takes a chill pill

Australia’s inflation, how prices for things go up, slowed down a lot in October.

People didn’t spend as much money, so it’s less likely the Reserve Bank will increase interest rates, which affects how much it costs to borrow money. The cost of living, or the average prices for things, went up by 4.9% over the past year. That’s slower than the 5.6% rise in September.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said this on a Wednesday. Those supposed experts thought prices would go up by 5.2%.

Some of the things that got more expensive were housing by 6.1%, transport by 5.9%, and food and drinks by 5.3%. But the government helped keep some costs from rising too much, like rents and electricity.

Compared to the month before, prices went down by 0.3% in October. Rents went down by 0.4%, and holiday travel costs dropped by 7%. These inflation numbers are the last big ones the Reserve Bank will look at before their final meeting of the year about interest rates. Before this, the bank had increased interest rates 13 times in a year and a half.

Like, comment and follow.