Australia's Inflation Surges to 4.6%: What's Next?

0:00Australia's inflation rate just spiked to 4.6% in March, the highest has been in two and a half years. That's a big jump from 3.7% a month before, all thanks to skyrocketing fuel prices from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, amid the Iran War. This is the first real hit to our economy from that Middle East mess, confirming the reserve bank's worries that things could get worse. Fuel doesn't just stop at the pump. It's baked into everything from goods to services and most of those ripple effects haven't even landed yet. Underlying inflation, the one-the-central bank watches closest, ticked up from 3.4% to 3.5%. Electricity bills are up 25.4% year over year too, as government subsidies wind down. Economists at the big four banks are calling it. They expect the reserve banks to hike the cash rate to 4.35% this Tuesday, with oil shocks still rippling through, inflation could blow past forecasts, squeezing wallets even

1:00tighter in the months ahead. I'm Corey with The Story and you've been listening to Adelaide News today, AI-powered