The Australian share market finished firmer for the fourth consecutive trading day, closing at its strongest level for more than a month. Sentiment on th local bourse was boosted by the release of lower than expected inflation figures for the June quarter.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 32.5 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 4,529.9 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 28.2 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 4542.1 points. It was the S&P/200ASX index's strongest close since June 22 when it closed at 4558.3.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures released late in the morning showed a headline figure of a 0.6 per cent rise in the June quarter, for an annual rate of 3.1 per cent, which was lower than expected by most market economists. The news took some of the pressure off interest rates and buoyed the market, which had good gains in the afternoon session.

The big four banks all gained. Commonwealth Bank closed up 52 cents at $52.60, Westpac rose 45 cents at $24.15, National Australia Bank gained 37 cents at $25.34 and ANZ was up 30 cents at $23.23. Macquarie Group bucked the trend to finished 44 cents lower, at $38.86.

Mining giant BHP Billiton closed up 45 cents at $40.20 while rival Rio Tinto was 95 cents stronger at $71.04. Macarthur Coal was up six cents at $12.98 after unveiling record sales in fiscal 2010. Gold giant Newcrest Mining fell 28 cents to $32.78 while its takeover suitor Lihir Gold fell three cents to $4.06.

On Wednesday Lihir said was still possible another suitor would emerge to trump Newcrest's $9.5 billion bid, ahead of next month's meeting of shareholders. The spot price of gold at 1615 AEST was $US1,162.70 per fine ounce, down $US23.10 from Tuesday's close of $US1,185.80 per ounce.

Energy stocks recovered from early falls, and Woodside Petroleum closed up 20 cents aosht $42.16 while Oil Search was four cents stronger at $5.97. Gas specialist Santos gained two cents at $13.81 and Origin Energy rose three cents to $15.64. Engineering firm Downer EDI jumped 5.9 per cent after it secured contracts worth $2 billion for works at a BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance coal mining project.

Retailers had a mixed day, with Coles owner Wesfarmers building on recent gains to be up another 77 cents at $31.13, but Woolworths was down two cents at $25.80. The department stores were mostly higher, with David Jones up three cents at $4.73 and Harvey Norman rising two cents to $3.57, but Myer was steady at $3.41.

News Corp lost eight cents to $16.62, while its non-voting scrip fell 22 cents to $14.68. Fairfax Media rose 1.5 cents to $1.485, but Consolidated Media was off two cents at $3.10. Preliminary national turnover was 2.1 billion shares worth $5.72 billion, with 554 stocks up, 451 down and 358 unchanged.

The Australian dollar was lower late Wednesday after weaker-than-expected second quarter inflation data buried the idea that interest rates might be raised next week. Last quoted, the Australian dollar was quoted at US$0.8958, down from US$0.9022 late Tuesday. Against the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar was recently at Y78.74 up from Y78.46.