Economic News

Pick up any discussion of Australian inflation right now and you may encounter several different numbers: 4.0 per cent, 3.9 per cent, 3.6 per cent and "about 3.5 per cent". None of them is wrong. They measure different things over different periods, and knowing …

Oil price spikes, conflict in the Middle East and a global scramble for artificial intelligence hardware have all featured in the Reserve Bank's commentary this year. Yet when Governor Michele Bullock fronted the media on 29 September to explain the Monetary Policy Board's latest …

For households hoping the cost-of-living squeeze is nearly over, one sentence from Michele Bullock's appearance in Canberra last month offered a sober reality check.

Official statistics tell a central bank where the economy has been. Talking to the people who run businesses can tell it where things might be heading. That is why one line from Governor Michele Bullock's 29 September media conference deserves a closer look.

Artificial intelligence is usually discussed in terms of productivity, jobs or share-market valuations. At the Reserve Bank of Australia, it is now also being discussed in terms of prices.

Few prices are as visible as the number on the sign at the local service station. When it jumps, households notice immediately, and conversations about the cost of living tend to follow. So does the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has made the latest …

At first glance, it looks like a contradiction. In August, the Reserve Bank of Australia forecast that the economy would grow by just 1.4 per cent over the year to December 2026. Then, on 29 September, the Monetary Policy Board lifted the cash rate …