Cereal and cigarette prices continue to rise in Australia despite headline inflation easing.
The consumer price index rose 3.4 per cent, which is now only marginally above the Reserve Bank’s 2 to 3 per cent target, new monthly inflation data from the Bureau of Statistics showed. Australia published on Wednesday.
But Australia’s cost of living crisis is far from over, with some items still rising by double digits.
Cherelle Murphy, chief economist at EY, said consumers were still suffering.
“Many of the categories that have been very strong, including rental and insurance, remain problematic,” he said.
From $66 packs of cigarettes to $10 boxes of cereal to $600 weekly rentals, these are the products consumers are burning up for.
Cereal and cigarette prices continue to rise despite headline inflation moderating
1. Cigarettes
Tobacco prices soared 10.7 percent in the year to February, even before the latest excise duty increase.
Coles is now selling a 25-pack of Marlboro Ice Blast for $65.99 and Winfield Original Blue 30 for $58.99.
Tobacco prices soared 10.7 percent in the year to February, even before the latest excise duty increase.
The excise tax on cigarettes is indexed twice a year based on average wages, and the stick tax rose 2.8 percent to $1.27816 on March 1, up from $1.24335.
Since the beginning of this month, the import of non-therapeutic vaporizers has been banned, which means suppliers are needed. a customs license and permit to import therapeutic vaporizers, with flavors restricted to mint, menthol and tobacco.
Convenience stores can now only sell vaporizers as long as they do not contain nicotine and do not make medicinal claims.
This could lead to more vaporizers being purchased on the black market, or force those with a nicotine addition to return to cigarettes, without embarking on a program to kick the unhealthy habit.
2. cereals
Cereal-based foods remain expensive, with cereal and bread prices rising 7 percent over the year.
This was double the 3.6 percent increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices.
Breakfast foods are getting more expensive at the checkout, with Coles selling Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes in a 640g packet for $10.
The same money buys a 740 gram package of Kellogg’s Just Right.
Those who eat milk with their cornflakes will also take a hit: dairy prices rose 4.2 percent.
A two-litre bottle of A2 milk costs $6.90 at Woolworths, or $3.45 per litre.
Cereal-based foods remain expensive, with cereal and bread prices rising 7 percent over the year.
3. Rentals
With Australia’s rental vacancy rate at a record low of one per cent, renters are stressed.
Over the past year, rents have increased 7.6 percent.
This is less than data from SQM Research showing that rents nationally rose 8.5 per cent in the year to March, for both houses and units.
Across Australia, renters typically pay $615.50 a week, or $32,000 a year.
But in the capitals, tenants pay an average rent of $721.10, after an increase of 11.4 percent.
A record 548,800 new migrants moved to Australia in the year to September, with 63 per cent of them settling in New South Wales or Victoria, home to the already overcrowded capitals Sydney and Melbourne.
With Australia’s rental vacancy rate at a record low of one per cent, renters are stressed. Over the past year, rents have risen by 7.6 per cent (pictured, a rental queue in Bondi)
4. Insurance
Finance and insurance prices increased by 8.4 percent during the year.
But that is nothing compared to some areas considered at risk of flooding.
Logan City Council, south of Brisbane, last year published a flood map that suggested some properties that had never flooded before were now at risk.
RACQ defended a 329 per cent increase for one insurer, Gail MacPherson, whose annual premium rose from $1,400 to $6,000.
“RACQ has the responsibility to set premiums based on the insured’s likelihood of making a claim and the size of that claim in the future,” a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
“We believe this is fair enough so that other members do not pay higher premiums to subsidize those in high-risk areas.”
5. Drinks
Prices of non-alcoholic beverages increased by 4.9 percent.
This figure was much larger than the 3.6 percent increase in alcoholic beverages.
A 30-pack of 375ml cans of Coca-Cola costs $47.20 at Woolworths, which is equivalent to $4.20 per liter, or double the $2.10 per liter price of premium unleaded petrol at Sydney.
The April 24 release of more complete inflation data for the March quarter will decide whether the Reserve Bank cuts rates in May, and plenty of drinks are likely to be consumed at its upcoming two-day board meeting.
Logan City Council, south of Brisbane, last year published a flood map suggesting some properties that had never before flooded were now at risk.