RBA

Inflation holds steady but services prove stubborn

28 March

The final stretch to bring inflation back to target is proving challenging, based on fresh data, though that is broadly what the Reserve Bank expected. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly inflation indicator held steady at 3.4 per cent...[Read More]

Swifties boost spending

14 March

The Australian economy got a leg up from Taylor Swift concerts but the much-anticipated visit was not enough to counter penny pinching elsewhere. Spending as tracked by Commonwealth Bank has been generally subdued and fell 0.3 per cent over the...[Read More]

Consumer price index steady at 3.4 per cent in January

28 February

Australia’s consumer price index held steady at 3.4 per cent in the 12 months to January, coming in below expectations. The index had been widely expected to rise by 3.6 per cent on an annual basis, when the data was released by the Australian...[Read More]

Living pressures ease for employee households

8 February

Working families are still under acute financial pressure but fewer cash rate hikes of late has tempered growth in their overall living costs. In the 12 months to the December quarter, living costs rose 6.9 per cent for employee households, down...[Read More]

Jobs data on agenda as signs point to cooling inflation

18 January

All eyes will be on jobs data this week as Australians hope for more positive signs before the Reserve Bank’s first rate decision of the year. A slowdown in jobs growth is expected to show up in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ December...[Read More]

Heated inflation figures put rate hike firmly in play

26 October

The latest inflation data has come in hotter than expected and may stir the Reserve Bank into a Melbourne Cup Day rate hike. Consumer prices as tracked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics rose 1.2 per cent over the three months to September, up...[Read More]

Inflation surprise as rate of price growth slows in May

28 June

A sharp fall in consumer prices will take pressure off the Reserve Bank, but persistent growth in rents and services will keep further rate hikes in play. The consumer price index sunk back to 5.6 per cent in the year to May, from 6.8 per cent in...[Read More]

Women gradually cracking the glass ceiling

25 January

Women are still woefully under-represented in top jobs but female leaders are becoming more common in Australia’s economic and financial institutions. Within Treasury, the government department responsible for economic policy, the federal budget...[Read More]

RBA decision risks higher cash rate peak

6 October

The surprise slowdown in the pace of rate rises risks dragging out the rate hiking cycle and forcing the central bank to go even higher than expected to dampen demand. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s 0.25 percentage point lift is the sixth...[Read More]

Consumer spending slowdown starts to show

14 September

Rate hikes and the soaring cost of living are finally starting to weigh on household spending. Non-essential outgoings decreased in August, according to CommBank’s household spending intentions index, with sectors such as travel,...[Read More]

RBA’s ‘past decisions’ under scrutiny