Sydney, February 25 (QNA) - The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that the country's inflation rate remained steady at 3.8 percent over the 12 months through January 2026.

Head of Prices Statistics at the Bureau, Michelle Marquardt, said that the annual inflation rate through last January was unchanged compared with December 2025.

The data showed that the largest contributor to annual inflation in January was the housing sector, which rose by 6.8 percent, followed by the food sector with an increase of 3.1 percent, then recreation and culture at 3.7 percent.

Australian media reported that the continued rise in inflation rates above expectations has increased pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia over the possibility of moving ahead with monetary policy tightening, three weeks after its decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, amid concerns about accelerating price increases in the country. (QNA)