Easily the biggest increase was for automotive fuel which rose 9.6 per cent in the March quarter and 33 per cent over the year – the biggest annual increase for that category in Sydney for more than 30 years.
Prices for a tranche of food and groceries items in the city also jumped,including vegetables (up 14.1 per cent over the year),beef and veal (up 12.4 per cent),oils and fats (up 9.3 per cent) and cleaning and maintenance products (up 4.9 per cent).
The expenditure classes – groups of similar goods or services,such as pharmaceuticals,restaurant meals or grocery items – are used to calculate the rate of inflation.
Cost of living emerged as the biggest concern for people in NSW in the March quarter,theIpsos Issues Monitor shows.
The survey,which asks a representative sample of adults to select the top three issues facing the state,found 43 per cent ranked cost of living among their biggest concerns,the highest share in the 11-year history of the survey. Petrol prices (22 per cent) ranked among the top five worries in NSW along with healthcare (40 per cent),housing (39 per cent) and the economy (26 per cent). The environment,which was the nation’s No. 1 concern following the black summer bush fires in early 2020,now ranks seventh in NSW (16 per cent).
Soaring inflation and rising interest rates have ensured cost of living has dominated debate in the federal election campaign now in its final fortnight.