Today (January 31, 2024), the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest – Consumer Price Index, Australia – for the December-quarter 2023. The data showed that the inflation rate continues to fall sharply – down to 4.1 per cent from 5.2 per cent in line with global supply trends. There is nothing in this quarterly release that would justify further interest rate rises. Yesterday, the ABS published the latest – Retail Trade – data for December 2023, which showed a marked slowdown in consumer spending in December 2023 after many consumers brought forward spending in November 2023 to take advantage of the discount sales. So it is likely that overall spending is subdued and I expect the inflation rate to continue to decline in the next three months.