The Committee agreed it remains appropriate to continue to tighten monetary conditions at pace to maintain price stability and contribute to maximum sustainable employment. Core consumer price inflation is too high and labour resources are scarce. Global consumer price pressures remain heightened. The global demand for goods and services is exceeding supply capacity, putting upward pressure on prices. Food and energy prices are being particularly exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. A recent decline in oil prices and an easing in some supply-chain constraints have seen headline inflation measures fall in some ... (full story)

The Reserve Bank has raised the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 3.5%, in line with the expectations of economic forecasters. The rate hike is the sixth this year and its fifth consecutive 50bp rise. The rate rise comes amid a growing schism between economists who argue central banks need to keep aggressively raising interest rates to be sure of quickly conquering inflation, and those counselling more caution in light of the time lag involved in monetary policy and growing fears of a world recession. The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised analysts on Tuesday by only raising its official cash rate by 25bp to ... (full story)