The Reserve Bank revealed it expects price pressures to grow through the rest of the year,which may require another lift in official interest rates.
Australia’s debt-laden households need the treasurer to keep federal spending in check.
The Australian sharemarket extended gains after the Reserve Bank left interest rates unchanged,with the bourse building on its early gains following a strong finish on Wall Street.
Jim Chalmers,a Brisbane Broncos fanatic,will wonder what hit him after the Reserve Bank signalled higher interest rates for longer.
Here are the key takeaways on the economy from the Reserve Bank’s latest monetary policy statement.
When the ABS factored interest rates into its cost-of-living index,working people paying off mortgages endured the worst inflation.
Retail spending growth over the year to the end of March was just 0.8 per cent – the weakest growth on record outside the pandemic and the introduction of the GST in 2000.
In previous cycles of Reserve Bank interest-rate changes,the major banks often responded in ways that helped boost their profits. Would they use those tactics today and risk becoming a target for political attacks?
For two years,the Reserve Bank has been talking about negotiating a narrow economic path. But inflation is buried deep in parts of the economy.
Jim Chalmers is on track to deliver successive budget surpluses,but a slowing economy may force the nation’s finances back into the red.
Market watchers expect further pain as tensions between Iran and Israel mount and quarterly domestic inflation figures are released this week.