Australian inflation hits 4.3% as RBA rate-rise expectations grow
Australian inflation rose to 4. 3% year-on-year in September, prompting most economists to anticipate a 25-basis-point increase in the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate at its upcoming meeting. The data, released alongside an underlying inflation rate of 3. 6%, kept inflation above the RBA’s 2-3% target and reinforced expectations of further tightening.
Earlier in the month, RBA assistant governor Dr Sarah Hunter defended recent rate hikes as the most effective tool to curb inflation, acknowledging the strain on mortgage borrowers and noting the limited impact of government spending. She told 60 Minutes that additional hikes were likely, and the central bank later told a Senate estimates hearing that current data did not indicate a recession in the next six months despite rising unemployment. Economists had warned that trimmed-mean inflation could exceed forecasts, and households were bracing for a possible fifth rate rise.
