RBA hikes interest rates to an 18‑year high, warning inflation will hurt for another year
The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate to 4.85% from 4.6% – its highest level since the global financial crisis in late 2008.
It’s also the fifth interest rate increase this year, bringing the total increase to 1.25 percentage points since February.
Asked if the RBA would lift rates again at coming meetings, RBA Governor Michele Bullock said, “I don’t know what the next move will be”. She noted the last couple of rate hikes “haven’t even started to flow through yet”.
So it is probably a good point to just take stock for a minute and see what comes in, in terms of the data, to see if we’re travelling more or less in line with the forecasts.
So it is probably a good point to just take stock for a minute and see what comes in, in terms of the data, to see if we’re travelling more or less in line with the forecasts.
Bullock said the RBA was trying to balance curbing inflation with not tipping the country into a recession “if we can avoid it”. But she also acknowledged Australia’s sluggish economy:
is going to make people feel like it’s a recession, because they feel poorer, their spending can’t grow very quickly because their incomes aren’t growing very quickly.
is going to make people feel like it’s a recession, because they feel poorer, their spending can’t grow very quickly because their incomes aren’t growing very quickly.
Here’s what the latest rates move will mean for homeowners, jobs and the wider economy.
What does it mean for mortgages?
The latest increase will add about A$120 a month to repayments on a $731,000 mortgage – the average size of a new owner-occupier home loan in Australia . This is assuming........
