An annual inflation rate well north of 4 per cent and,more troubling for the Reserve Bank,an underlying inflation rate above 3 per cent,will be official confirmation of bigger bills at the supermarket,fewer specials around our favourite clothing stores and smaller portions of much-loved sweet snacks.
Coupled with the moribund growth in wages,the figures will highlight the financial pressures facing many voters.
Inflation reports during an election campaign aren’t uncommon. This will be the fifth this century.
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The last time it occurred was in 2019. That report,which showed zero inflation for the quarter and just 1.3 per cent over the previous 12 months,went by without much comment from MPs who thought it was a good thing.
So good that about four weeks later,and with the election over,the RBA said the economy needed to grow faster and cut official interest rates to a then-record low of 1.25 per cent (on its way to a pre-COVID low of 0.75 per cent).
Most famously,the September-quarter inflation report of 2007 landed on October 24 – a little over a fortnight before that year’s election. It showed headline inflation at 1.9 per cent but underlying inflation had popped over 3 per cent.