Inflation figures on Wednesday are expected to be good news for borrowers who are hoping the Reserve Bank will stick to its record low interest rate.
The consumer price index (CPI), the key measure of inflation, is forecast to have risen by 0.4 per cent in the three months to September, according to an AAP survey of 13 economists.
That means the annual inflation rate will be 2.2 per cent, which is at the lower end of the RBA's two to three per cent target band.
The June quarter CPI was 0.5 per cent, with a relatively high annual rate of three per cent.
Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said a one-off impact from the repeal of the carbon tax in July and falling commodity prices helped keep a lid on inflation in the September quarter.
"The removal of the carbon tax clearly has a meaningful impact on the September quarter CPI via its direct impact on power and utilities bills," he said.
"Westpac is forecasting that, in total, utility bills fell 0.4 in the quarter providing a 0.01 percentage drag on the CPI.
"Other key factors for the low CPI print are: falling crude oil prices which has resulted in auto fuel prices falling."
Mr Smirk said the rise in housing prices, food and health costs are offsetting falls elsewhere.
Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe doubts that the carbon tax repeal will have much of an impact on the inflation figures.
"Information from credit card data collections show that the average size of a utility bill rose in the third quarter rather than fell and business anecdotes suggest a reluctance to pass on claimed price benefits and other offsets are at work, for example higher gas prices," he said.
Mr Blythe said the falling Australian dollar is putting upward pressure on inflation through rising import prices.
"Beyond the volatiles and the carbon tax story, business anecdotes are pointing to higher grocery prices in some areas," he said.
"The strength of the housing market will keep some pressure on housing-related CPI items outside of utilities."
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch chief economist Saul Eslake expects inflation to continue to continue to decelerate for the remainder of the year.
"A combination of domestic economic weakness and changes in policy will prompt this move," he said.
The median forecast for underlying inflation in the September quarter, which excludes volatile price movements, is 0.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent over the year to September.
FINDINGS OF AAP'S SEPT QTR INFLATION SURVEY
* Headline inflation to be 0.4%, for an annual rate of 2.2%
* Forecasts ranged from 0.0% to 0.6%
* Underlying inflation to be 0.5%, for an annual rate of 2.6%
* Underlying forecasts ranged from 0.4% to 0.7%
* Underlying inflation takes out volatile quarterly price movements
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