Underlying inflation measures · Australia

Australia RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QoQ

The Australia RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QoQ is an alternative measure of underlying inflation in Australia, built to strip out one-off price jumps without simply dropping whole categories.

Importance
Medium
Released
Quarterly
Currency
AUD · Australian dollar
Central bank
The Reserve Bank of Australia

Latest figures

The latest release for Q3, published on 29 October 2025, came in at 1%, above the consensus of 0.8%, up from 0.7% the time before (revised).

A higher figure than expected makes the Reserve Bank of Australia more likely to keep rates high or raise them: it tends to support the Australian dollar and push bond yields up, and is often a weight on stocks.

Over the last 4 releases it ranged from 0.5% to 1%, averaging 0.7%.

Jan 2025: 0.5%Apr 2025: 0.7%Jul 2025: 0.6%Oct 2025: 1% Jan 2025Oct 2025
Actual results; the short line on a bar marks the consensus.
ReleasedForActualConsensusPrevious
29 Oct 2025Q31%0.8%0.7% ®
30 Jul 2025Q20.6%0.7%0.7%
30 Apr 2025Q10.7%0.7%0.5%
29 Jan 2025Q40.5%0.6%0.8%

See it in the economic calendar →

Why it matters

the Reserve Bank of Australia watches these measures to judge whether inflation is broad-based. When they agree with the headline, the trend is real; when they diverge, a few items are distorting the picture.

How it is calculated

A trimmed mean removes the items with the largest and smallest price changes (for example the top and bottom 15% by weight) and averages the rest; a weighted median takes the price change in the middle of the distribution. Other variants hold mortgage interest costs fixed or use common components.

What changes mean

  • A trimmed mean or median near the target is the clearest sign that inflation is under control.
  • When the headline jumps but these do not, the move is likely temporary.

Higher than expected: A higher figure than expected makes the Reserve Bank of Australia more likely to keep rates high or raise them: it tends to support the Australian dollar and push bond yields up, and is often a weight on stocks.

Lower than expected: A lower figure than expected gives the Reserve Bank of Australia room to cut or hold rates lower: the Australian dollar tends to soften and bond yields to fall.

A short history

Trimmed means were developed in the 1990s (Bryan and Cecchetti at the Cleveland Fed); the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Bank of Canada give them a central place in their policy.

Questions

What is the Australia RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QoQ?

The Australia RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QoQ is an alternative measure of underlying inflation in Australia, built to strip out one-off price jumps without simply dropping whole categories.

What was the latest Australia RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QoQ?

1% for Q3, published on 29 October 2025 (consensus 0.8%, previous 0.7%).

Educational content only, not investment advice. Figures are the published results as recorded by our calendar; market reactions described are typical, not guaranteed.