Australian Economy Australian interest rates

Housing inflation is a persistent thorn in the RBA’s side

Friday 28 August 2026

This week’s stronger-than-expected CPI inflation print from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has economists tipping near-term interest rate hikes.

To recap, the policy-relevant trimmed mean inflation printed at 3.6% year-over-year, above forecasts of 3.5%:

Chart from Justin Fabo at Antipodean Macro

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.