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By Adwitiya Srivastava

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australian shares slipped on Thursday after sticky third-quarter core inflation data continued to bog down investor sentiment as it reinforced bets of delayed rate cuts, while the benchmark logged a monthly decline.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.3% lowerat 8,160. The benchmark declined 1.33% in October.

On Wednesday, data showed that Australian consumer price inflation slowed to a 3-1/2 year low in the third quarter, though core inflation - a key figure for the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) monetary policy decision- remained sticky and above marketforecasts.

"There is some resignation among investors that an interest rate cut looks more like being a 2025 occurrence rather than a 2024 prospect, which didn't help the mood of the market today," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

"No change in rates is expected at the RBA meeting next week, with the focus likely to instead be on whether the central bank chooses to soften their monetary policy tone in light of recent data," he added.

Analysts at ANZ expect the first rate cut to take place in February 2025.

In Sydney, gold stocks .AXGD fell 0.3% on the day, but logged their best month since March.

Energy stocks .AXEJ shed 0.5% to close at their lowest since mid-September, posting a seventh straight month of losses.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM fell 0.6%, logging their worst month since June, as iron ore prices remain under pressure due to concerns over steel demand in top consumer China. IRONORE/

Among individual stocks, diversified miner Mineral Resources MIN.AX rose 9.2% to log its best session since late-September, after it struck a $743 mln deal with billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock for gas exploration permits.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 dropped 0.4% to finish the session at 12,638.9 points.

Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema

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