WITH THE UFINANCIAL TEAM<\/p>\n
With inflation stubbornly above target and global pressures mounting, economists are tipping the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) could lift the cash rate again at its 17 March board meeting <\/strong>\u2013<\/strong> and local homeowners are being urged to review their mortgages before it’s too late.<\/strong><\/p>\n The RBA raised the cash rate to 3.85 per cent in February, and the latest ABS data suggests the pressure isn’t letting up. Headline CPI held at 3.8 per cent in January, while trimmed mean inflation \u2013 the RBA’s preferred measure \u2013 edged up to 3.4 per cent.<\/p>\n Both remain well above the RBA’s 2\u20133 per cent target band, with housing costs rising 6.8 per cent annually and electricity surging 32.2 per cent over the year.<\/p>\n The electricity bill sting that hasn’t fully hit yet<\/strong><\/p>\n Government energy rebates have now expired, meaning the true cost of electricity is only beginning to flow through household budgets \u2013 and through the official data.<\/p>\n Commonwealth Bank senior economist Trent Saunders noted electricity was the largest single contributor to January’s inflation spike, warning “significant swings” in volatile categories will keep the RBA’s attention firmly on price pressures.<\/p>\n Future CPI readings are likely to show this impact growing, signalling that inflation could continue rising before it falls.<\/p>\n