Economy dashboard · Prices & inflation
As at 13 October 2026 · official data unless labelled
Headline CPI (monthly), annual
4%Above the 2–3% target▲ 0.5 ptsAugust 2026vs target 2–3%
What the numbers are telling us
Headline CPI (monthly), annual was 4% in August 2026, up 0.5 pts on the previous reading (3.5%).
That is 1 pts above the RBA's 2–3 per cent target band.
It is above its average since April 2025 of 3.46%.
Why it matters
What households experience at the till, including volatile items such as fuel and electricity.
What it should be
The RBA aims to keep inflation between 2 and 3 per cent, averaged over time. Reserve Bank of Australia, Inflation target.
Headline CPI: the last 17 readings
Headline CPI (monthly), annual, 2025-04 to 2026-08
Every figure on this page is calculated from the stored official series (ABS, CPI (ABS Data API)); the summary is written from the numbers, not edited by hand.