CPI comes in hot

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From the ABS, the December quarter CPI has come in hot at 0.8%, double consensus:

DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

		Sep Qtr 2013 to Dec Qtr 2013	Dec Qtr 2012 to Dec Qtr 2013
Weighted average of eight capital cities		% change	% change

All groups CPI		0.8	2.7
Food and non-alcoholic beverages		1.6	1.1
Alcohol and tobacco		1.6	5.4
Clothing and footwear		-1.1	-1.3
Housing		0.5	4.3
Furnishings, household equipment and services		0.4	1.1
Health		-0.5	4.4
Transport		-0.1	1.9
Communication		1.2	1.7
Recreation and culture		2.1	2.4
Education		0.0	5.6
Insurance and financial services		0.2	1.6
CPI analytical series
	All groups CPI, seasonally adjusted	0.9	2.6
	Trimmed mean	0.9	2.6
	Weighted median	0.9	2.6

As expected, it was fruit, veggies and holidays that drove mush of the rise. All of which will pass. The dollar spike 0.6 cents to 88.51. If it runs it’s a short!

Full report to come.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.