FX.co ★ Australia Q1 Import Prices Rise the Most in Near 3 Years

In the first quarter of 2025, Australia's import prices increased by 3.3% from the previous quarter, significantly surpassing market predictions of a modest 0.3% rise and accelerating from a 0.2% increase in the last quarter of 2024. This represents the most substantial hike since the second quarter of 2022. The primary factors contributing to this increase were petroleum and petroleum-related products, which saw an 8.2% rise. This gain was driven by a weaker Australian dollar combined with intensified U.S. sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude oil. Meanwhile, non-monetary gold experienced an 11.7% surge, fueled by strong demand as a safe-haven asset, accumulation by central banks, and expectations of global monetary policy easing, which boosted gold's attractiveness as a non-yielding asset. The only notable offset was observed in road vehicles, which decreased by 0.7%. This decline was attributed to an influx of older, lower-priced models; however, the devaluation of the Australian dollar helped mitigate this downturn.