Australian shares closed higher on Friday, amid sift US inflation data, which raised bets for at least two rate cuts next year.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.47% or 40 points to close at 8,628.2.

The core consumer price index rose 2.6% in November from last year, reflecting a drop in inflationary pressures, Bloomberg reported.

"It's possible that this does reflect a genuine drop off in inflationary pressures, but such a sudden stop, particularly in the more-persistent services components like rent of shelter is very unusual, at least outside of a recession," said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

"The upshot is that is looks like we all have to wait until the December data is published next month to verify whether this is a statistical blip or a genuine disinflation," Ashworth said.

On the domestic front, Australia's total credit rose 0.6% month on month in November, following a 0.7% increase in October, data from the Reserve Bank of Australia showed.

In company news, ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) was ordered by the Federal Court of Australia to pay AU$250 million in penalties after the bank's settlement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to resolve five matters within its Australian Markets and Australia Retail businesses, the largest combined penalties the regulator has ever secured against a single entity, according to separate statements by the regulator and the lender.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it will not oppose Coles Group's (ASX:COL) unit Coles Supermarkets Australia from acquiring leasehold interests to establish new supermarkets in Victoria. Shares of the company fell 1% at market close.

Lastly, Macquarie Group's (ASX:MQG) Macquarie Securities (Australia) unit agreed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to pay a penalty of AU$35 million to resolve civil proceedings regarding Macquarie Securities' misreporting of millions of short sales over several years.