Australia sees 5.7% import price rise in June quarter

·       Import prices jumped by 5.7% in the June quarter of 2026, marking the largest quarterly increase since December 2021.

·       The Australian dollar faced upward pressure while global inflation concerns intensified following supply route disruptions.

·       The Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that the sharp rise was driven by international supply constraints affecting oil, fertiliser, and plastics.

Import prices increased by 5.7% in the June quarter, driven primarily by global supply disruptions affecting energy and manufacturing materials.

This quarterly result represents the largest increase recorded for Australian import prices since the December quarter of 2021.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that petroleum prices surged by 47.1% during the three-month period.

Prices for fertilisers rose by 25.1%, while primary plastics increased by 26.3% over the same timeframe.

Offsetting these increases, non-monetary gold export and import prices fell by 9.1% as investors shifted towards interest-bearing assets.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is a government agency responsible for producing official statistical information for Australia.

The agency regularly tracks international trade data to measure broader economic price movements across the national economy.