Australia Sept TD Securities Inflation Index Up 0.3% MoM, 4.8% YoY

The monthly slowdown offers little comfort while the annual rate sits unchanged at 4.8%, a level that keeps inflation well above most central bank comfort zones. For markets, the more telling signal is the divergence between cooling momentum and sticky year-on-year pricing, which complicates the case for near-term policy easing. Whether the monthly deceleration persists into the next reading — or proves a one-off — is the open question, particularly given how closely rate expectations now track each inflation print.