SYDNEY, April 27 (Reuters) - Australian consumer prices surged at the fastest annual pace in more than two decades last quarter as petrol and home building costs climbed, cementing expectations interest rates will likely rise by June if not sooner.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) jumped 2.1% in the first quarter, topping market forecasts of a 1.7% increase. The annual pace picked up to 5.1%, from 3.5% the previous quarter and the highest since 2001.
A closely watched measure of core inflation, the trimmed mean, climbed a record 1.4% in the quarter, taking the annual pace to the highest since early 2009 at 3.7%.
