(Bloomberg) — Australia’s consumers prices rose slightly faster than forecast in the three months through September, reflecting a rebound in childcare and fuel prices, but still well-short of the central bank’s goal.
The annual consumer price index rose 0.7% from the second quarter, compared with economists estimates of a 0.6% gain, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday. Quarterly CPI jumped 1.6%, rebounding from a negative result three months earlier.
The trimmed-mean gauge, a key core measure, gained 0.4% from the second quarter for an annual increase of 1.2%, compared with forecast gains of 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively. The Reserve Bank of Australia targets inflation of 2%-3% and has struggled to achieve the lower level of that band for most of the past half-decade. Read more…..

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Icarus TV
The coronavirus pandemic is bringing on a wave of bankruptcies in 2020. And it’s not just the retail sector that’s suffering. Automotive, aviation, telecom, and oil and gas companies are all feeling the pain as consumer demand dries up. Despite the billions of government support and loans, it might be too late for a lot of companies.