Consumer prices in Australia added 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
That was unchanged from Q1 but shy of forecasts for a gain of 0.5 percent.
The most significant increases in price for this quarter were for medical and hospital services (3.4 percent), tobacco (3.0 percent), new dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (0.9 percent), furniture (4.8 percent) and rents (1.1 percent).
The most significant offsetting price falls this quarter were for domestic holiday travel and accommodation (-4.0 percent) and automotive fuel (-3.1 percent).
Among other individual components, prices for clothing climbed 2.7 percent on quarter, followed by health care (1.9 percent), alcohol (1.3 percent), furniture (1.0 percent) and housing (0.6 percent).
On a yearly basis, inflation gained 2.4 percent, below forecasts for 2.5 percent - which would have been unchanged from the three months prior.
Among the individual components, prices for health care spiked 6.6 percent on year, followed by education (5.7 percent), housing (5.3 percent), alcohol (4.0 percent) and food (1.1 percent).
In addition, the Reserve Bank of Australia said that the Q2 trimmed mean was up 0.5 percent on quarter and 2.2 percent on year - in line with forecasts after adding 0.3 percent on quarter and 2.2 percent on year in the previous three months.
Also, the RBA's weighted median added 0.7 percent on quarter and 2.6 percent on year. That compares to forecasts for an increase of 0.5 percent on quarter and 2.4 percent on year after rising 0.5 percent on quarter and 2.6 percent on year in Q1.
Upon the release of the data, the Australian dollar fell against other major currencies, trading near 0.9273 against the greenback, 92.37 against the yen, 1.4247 against the euro and 1.1595 against the kiwi.
Those losses have accelerated, however, following the disappointing results of China's HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI for July - which came in with a score of 47.7 against expectations for 48.2, which would have been unchanged from June.
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