Economy News

Australia lifts rates to 4.6%, a 15-year high, in its fourth hike of 2026

The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.6% on Tuesday 29 September, its highest since late 2011, ABC News (Australia) reports. It was the fourth increase of the year and the board's vote was unanimous. Headline inflation was 3.5% in July and underlying inflation 3.6%, above the RBA's 2–3% target.

The board blamed a broader Middle East conflict and higher energy prices, plus AI-driven demand pushing up global prices for technology goods, and said it would raise rates further “if needed”. ABC notes that the US Fed, the ECB, the Bank of Japan and New Zealand's central bank have all lifted rates in recent weeks.

“We knew that this was going to hit some people pretty hard.” — Michele Bullock, RBA governor, via The Guardian

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — Bullock's mixed signals: she said fuel, fertiliser and transport prices were now “permanently higher”, but also that “maybe there doesn't need to be any more interest rate rises”. Traders cut their bets on another hike next year to about 50%.
• ABC News (Australia) — the household bill: Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac and ANZ will all lift variable home loan rates by 0.25 points from 9 October.
• Al Jazeera — the global drivers and the strain: Roy Morgan says almost 1.8 million mortgage holders were at risk of “mortgage stress” in July.

What we don't know yet: whether this is the peak. ANZ and UBS still expect a hike as soon as November; Commonwealth Bank, NAB and AMP see rates on hold.