Australia's consumer prices rose 0.9% in the March quarter, breaking two quarters of subdued growth, as energy and education costs surged, official data showed on Wednesday, reinforcing expectations the central bank will remain cautious on rate cuts.

The annual consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.4%, unchanged from the December quarter and within the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) 2-3% target band, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Housing costs rose 1.7% in the quarter, fuelled by a 16.3% jump in electricity prices. That reflected the expiry of a state government rebate in Queensland and reduced support elsewhere from the federal Energy Bill Relief Fund.

Education climbed 5.2%, with fee hikes across preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary levels, while food and non-alcoholic beverages gained 1.2%, lifted by seasonal price increases in fresh produce.

Underlying inflation eased. The trimmed mean CPI, a key gauge watched by the RBA, slowed to 2.9% annually from 3.3% - the lowest since the December 2021 quarter.

"Monetary policy remains restrictive and we believe the RBA Board will move to take the cash rate to a more neutral setting through 2025," CommBank Research said in a note.

"But despite the elevated uncertainty in the global economy, the domestic data is holding up sufficiently well for the RBA not to rush to cut rates. We believe the RBA Board will primarily be influenced by the domestic flow of data in the monetary policy setting process."

Goods inflation accelerated to 1.3% from 0.8% last quarter, partly due to a rebound in electricity costs. Services inflation slowed to 3.7%, the weakest pace since June 2022, with easing pressure in rents and insurance.

A separate monthly indicator showed annual CPI steady at 2.4% in March, matching the quarterly print.