Whether the Reserve Bank holds or raises rates this afternoon, economists are increasingly confident a rise will come in the week before the federal budget.
As Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to hand down a budget on 12 May, a spiralling crisis in the Middle East — the predictable consequence of a joint US–Israeli attack on Iran — has thrown a spanner in the works.
While delivering last year’s budget, Chalmers declared Australia had “turned the corner” on inflation. But as we reported last week, an unpredictable global environment is likely to keep inflation higher for longer.
Chalmers heads into May hoping to deliver a reform-focused budget and with the political capital to do so.
