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Australia's retail prices increased a little faster than estimated in the last quarter of 2009, based on data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Consumer prices rose 0.5% in the October-December quarter compared to the preceding period according to the ABS report. The increase was higher that the economists’ expected 0.4% rise in consumer prices, the Dow Jones Newswires reported. 

Overall, Australia's consumer price index increased by 2.1% in 2009,

The Reserve Bank of Australia's trimmed mean consumer price index – which was computed without the  upper and lower most data, -- was up  0.6% from the third quarter, and up 3.2% compared with the same period in the previous year. 

The most substantial price increases during the quarter were the 15.9% increase for fruit prices, and the 6.6% rise for domestic travel and accommodation costs during the holidays, according to the ABS. 

However, the varying increases in the prices of goods and services were not enough for the RBS to declare another interest rate hike for cash this February 2.