Inflation lifted seven per cent annually in the March quarter, keeping pressure on stretched household budgets.
But consumer prices as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics are growing more slowly than in the December quarter, when a 7.8 per cent yearly increase was recorded.
Quarterly inflation growth rose 1.4 per cent in the March quarter, which ABS head of price statistics Michelle Marquardt said was the lowest quarterly rise since December 2021.
"While prices continued to rise for most goods and services, many of these increases were smaller than they have been in recent quarters," she said.
Consensus expectations were for a 6.9 per cent rise in headline inflation in the year to March.
The quarterly inflation numbers will set the scene for another finely balanced cash rate decision next week.
The Reserve Bank started hiking interest rates in May last year to bring down rising inflation, but it decided to hold steady at 3.6 per cent last month.
In recent communications, central bank officials have made it clear the board is prepared to hike again if the incoming data undermines its pathway to returning inflation back within its two to three per cent target range.
© AAP 2023