Australia’s annual inflation climbed to 3.8% in December 2025 from November's 3-month low of 3.4%, surpassing market forecasts of 3.6% and remaining above the RBA’s 2–3% target. Services inflation hit a two-year high (4.1% vs. 3.6% in Q3), driven by year-end holiday travel and accommodation, as well as elevated rents. Meanwhile, goods inflation edged higher (3.4% vs 3.3%), due to a faster rise in electricity cost (21.5% vs 19.7%) as some state rebates expired. Price pressures remained broad-based, with continued increases in food and non-alcoholic drinks (3.4% vs 3.3%), alcohol and tobacco (4.9% vs 4.3%), clothing (3.4% vs 5.1%), furnishings (2.0% vs 1.3%), health (3.6% vs 3.6%), transport (1.6% vs 2.7%), communication (1.1% vs 1.3%), recreation (4.4% vs 3.0%), education (5.4% vs 5.4%), and financial services (2.5% vs 2.5%). The trimmed mean CPI inched up to 3.3% yoy from the prior 3.2%, in line with estimates. Monthly, the CPI rose 1.0%, picking up from a flat print in November.