Economic News

That distinction, drawn out by Assistant Governor (Economic) Sarah Hunter at the AFR Property Summit on 8 September 2026, is the key to understanding why a supply-driven price rise can keepInflationhigher for longer, and why the Bank still cares deeply about it even thoughMonetary …

When the Board left the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35 per cent on 11 August, it did not signal comfort. It described inflation as still too high and said it was focused on ensuring high inflation does not become embedded in the economy.

Hauser did not soften the starting point. "Inflation is too high," he said, echoing the language of the Board's August statement.

Those risks are the crisis in the Middle East, an unexpected artificial-intelligence-driven globalInvestmentboom, and a weakening in Australia's own capacity toSupplygoods and services. Each pulls on prices in a different way, but together they help explain why the Reserve Bank has held the cash …

Speaking at the AFR Property Summit on 8 September 2026, Assistant Governor (Economic) Sarah Hunter said crude prices had risen sharply in a matter of weeks and now sat above the level the Bank had penciled in for its August Statement on Monetary Policy. …

At its 11 August meeting, the Board left the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35 per cent. It described inflation as still too high and said it would raise the cash rate further if upside risks to inflation materialise. The key word is "if". …

Hunter's central line was direct: "inflation is top priority right now." She said the August Statement on Monetary Policy had judged the risk to inflation as "skewed to the upside", meaning the RBA sees a greater chance of inflation surprising higher than lower.