Australia's annual rate of inflation hits 2.9%, fueled by higher drug prices
Australia's headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 per cent in the March quarter, for an annual rate of 2.9 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Wednesday. The major elements driving the CPI increases were pharmaceutical prices, which rose 13.3%, vegetables, up 19.3% and the cost of electricity, up 5.9%
The apparent surge in pharmaceutical prices included in the Index for the March quarter is easily explained by the mechanics of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme safety net, claimed Medicines Australia chief executive Brendan Shaw, saying that the CPI pharmaceutical price should be considered in the context of the December 2009 CPI, when pharmaceutical prices fell 5.3%.
CPI rise in pharmaceuticals due to PBS safety net
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