Australia’s headline inflation jumps to 4.6 percent in March

It’s still too early to see the full impact of the Iran war on prices in Australia, with the full picture not likely known until the next quarter at the earliest, writes KPMG Australia Chief Economist Brendan Rynne.

Headline inflation has jumped to 4.6 percent in March, up from 3.7 percent in February. Despite the fact the war in Iran shows no signs of ending anytime soon, the result will give some comfort to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that Australia's inflation response to the Middle East conflict has been more muted than anticipated. But core inflation still remains well above the RBA's target band, which is not what it will be wanting to see - given it appears determined to rein it in at al...

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Authors: Brendan Rynne

Published Date: 30 April 2026