By Keri Algar

SYDNEY, NSW: Offsetting price falls in the audio visual and computing category have dragged the consumer price index (CPI) down to a rise of 0.7 per cent for the September quarter, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The CPI, which measures changes in the price of consumer goods and services, experienced a price fall in the consumer electronics division of -2.7 per cent. This is a marked improvement however, from the June quarter that registered a noticeable  -6.3 per cent fall, as well as falls in the March quarter of -5.9 per cent and the December 2009 quarter of 7.1 per cent.

According to the ABS, price rises in the September quarter were for tobacco (7 per cent), electricity (6 per cent) and property rates (6.2 per cent). Other significant offsetting price falls were in automotive fuel (-3.7 per cent), vegetables (-5.4 per cent), and pharmaceuticals (-3.9 per cent).