Consumers who love a drink, a smoke or being able to drive somewhere have been hit with surging inflation.
Some popular items have gone up price by levels well beyond the consumer price index, indicating that the sharp increases in inflation in the US and other countries will soon take hold in Australia.
In the year to September, Australia's level of headline inflation rose by three per cent, putting it at the top of the Reserve Bank's two to three per cent target.
But items incurring the federal government's hated excises - colloquially known by economists as 'sin taxes' - have had the biggest price increases in the double-digits.
Consumers who love a drink, a smoke or being able to drive somewhere have been hit with surging inflation (pictured are smokers in Brisbane)
Petrol
Petrol prices during the past year have gone up by 24 per cent to new record highs.
The issue is so concerning Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe last week raised it in his 'Recent Trends in Inflation' speech.
'The higher price of oil in global markets has also affected the headline inflation rate in Australia,' he said.
During the past week, unleaded prices across Australia have climbed by 1.7 cents a litre to 166.2 cents a litre, Australian Institute of Petroleum data showed.
In some pricey postcodes of Australia's big cities, motorists are being slugged 190 cents a litre.
In Brisbane, petrol prices have climbed to a new record high of 183 cents a litre.
MotorMouth calculations show Melbourne is on track to hit new record highs later this week, surpassing the current average of 177.3 cents a litre.
CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsmans said motorists last week paid an average of $232.68 for petrol last week, filling up a family car with a 35-litre tank.
While pricey, that was still below the record-high level of $237.20 level in late October.
'Filling up the car with petrol is one of the single biggest weekly purchases for consumers,' Mr Felsman said.
'Retail unleaded petrol prices remain elevated across Australia today.
'Motorists should top-up rather than fill up their tanks.'
Petrol prices during the past year have gone up by 24 per cent to new record highs. The issue is so concerning Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe last week raised it in his 'Recent Trends in Inflation' speech (pictured is a stock image)
Apart from crude oil prices, motorists also have to contend with paying 43.3 cents a litre in excise, following an increase on August 2.
Those increases have meant overall transport costs during the past year have surged by 10.4 per cent, as calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, used car prices have climbed by 36 per cent as many motorists opt for a
