Internal documents from the Reserve Bank of Australia reveals impact of high rates

<p>Bloomberg (gated) with the report on Reserve Bank of Australia internal documents showing how rising interest rates have impacted household and businesses. </p><p>In brief:</p><ul><li>domestic tourism
demand slipped from high levels</li><li>consumers have continued to trade down to cheaper
products, or purchased fewer items, due to cost-of-living pressures
</li><li>private sector wage growth appeared to have
stabilized at “around” 4%</li><li>community services
organizations seeing …

“Cost‐of‐living
pressures remain acute for their constituents”</li><li>“More
people than usual are seeking support from community services
organizations, including wage earners and households with mortgages
who have sought food support.”</li></ul><p>None of this should come as a surprise. There is nothing the RBA could do about many of the factors that drove prices higher, such as supply-chain pressures and the jump in energy prices. What the RBA can do, though, is work (via higher interest rates) to pressure domestic demand lower. Which is what they've done. Its hitting some members of the community harder than others, of course. </p><p>The RBA will remain focused on driving inflation lower, its one of their only two jobs. Rates appear to be set to stay higher for longer:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/bank-of-america-predicts-no-rate-cut-from-the-reserve-bank-of-australia-until-2025-20240102/" target="_blank" rel="follow" data-article-link="true">Bank of America predicts no rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia until 2025</a></li></ul><p>RBA cash rate </p>

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.