November rate rise less likely with inflation data lower than expected

News figures show annual headline inflation jumped to 4 per cent in August, up from 3.5 per cent in July.

Trimmed mean inflation, the Reserve Bank's preferred measure of underlying inflation, remained steady at 3.6 per cent for the third month in a row.

The news comes a day after the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates for the fourth time this year, to their highest level in 15 years, to try to drag inflation down and stop high inflation becoming embedded in Australia's economy.

On Tuesday, the RBA's Monetary Policy Board increased interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, which lifted the cash rate target to 4.6 per cent, up from 4.35 per cent.