Australia Grinds to Halt in Three Weeks
Source: macrobusiness.com.au
- RBA hikes rates to 3.85% as inflation sticks at 3.8%, with more pain looming from Middle East war.
- Oil shocks could push prices to US$150/barrel, spiking inflation into the mid-fours and crushing households.
- Consumer gloom hits record highs, with two-thirds saying the nation's off track amid rate hike fears.
Australia's economy is buckling under sticky inflation, fresh RBA rate hikes, and a Middle East war that's jacking up oil prices and petrol costs. Households face brutal mortgage squeezes and cost-of-living hell, while markets bet on even higher rates. This mess explains why consumer confidence is tanking and recession whispers are growing louder.