Australia's core inflation flew to its fastest annual pace since 2014 in the December quarter as fuel and housing costs led to broad-based price pressures, a shock that will stoke market speculation of an early hike in interest rates. RBA seen likely to end bond buying at Feb. 1 meeting.

Also, new Zealand's annual inflation rate topped a three-decade high at the end of last year, official figures show. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 5.9% for the last three months of 2021, the fastest rate since mid-1990. That was higher than expected and makes it almost certain that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will take further steps to curb rising living costs.

In October, New Zealand became one of the first developed economies to raise rates since the start of the pandemic. "New Zealand is not alone, with many other OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries experiencing higher inflation than in recent decades," Aaron Beck from Stats NZ said.

Prices for construction and rentals for housing jumped, while gasoline prices also increased by 30% in the year to the last quarter of 2021, Stats NZ said.