CANBERRA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Australia's annual rate of inflation eased more than expected in May to the lowest level in 2025, according to official data.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.1 percent in the 12-month period to May, down from 2.4 percent in the year to April and the lowest annual figure since October 2024.

Local media reported that economists had expected the CPI to rise by 2.3 percent in the year to May.

The annual trimmed mean, the Reserve Bank of Australia's preferred measure of underlying inflation, fell from 2.8 percent in the year to April to 2.4 percent in the 12-month period to May.

Michelle Marquardt, head of prices statistics at the ABS, said it was the lowest rate of annual trimmed mean inflation since November 2021.

The ABS said the biggest contributors to CPI growth in the year to May were food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, and alcohol and tobacco.

It said that food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 2.9 percent over the 12-month period, down from 3.1 percent in the year to April.

Rents rose by 4.5 percent in the 12 months to May, down from a 5.0 percent rise in the 12 months to April and the lowest annual growth since December 2022.

Those rises were partially offset by a 5.9 percent decline in electricity prices over the 12 months, which was driven by government rebates, and automotive fuel prices falling by 10 percent in the same period to the lowest level since September 2022. ■