RBA announces cash rate decision for August

This follows an increase of 50 basis points last month.

KPMG partner and senior economist Sarah Hunter said data has continued to indicate that momentum in the economy was strong through the second quarter, with the labour market tightening further and anecdotal evidence of strengthening wages growth continuing to emerge.

“Against this backdrop, both Governor Lowe and Deputy Governor Bullock have signalled in recent speeches that they expect the Board to continue raising the cash rate to a significantly higher level than it is at the moment,” Ms Hunter stated.

Laing+Simmons chief executive Leanne Pilkington said the expectation is that rates could be around the 3 per cent mark by year’s end.

“The market is looking for some degree of certainty in this area and this includes property buyers and sellers who typically become more active in spring,” said Ms Pilkington.

BIS Oxford Economics head of macroeconomic forecasting Sean Langcake noted that RBA communications have emphasised their commitment to tackling inflation.

“Moreover, they have expressed the view that households are relatively well-placed to bear the burden of higher interest rates,” said Mr Langcake.

“Taken together, we see more rate hikes before the RBA pause to assess how the economy is responding to higher rates."

Wealth Within chief analyst Dale Gillham said the RBA seems “hell-bent on pushing the interest rates up to what they consider to be normal as fast as they can”.

“They seem to want to incrementally raise them until they get to where they want them, rather than wait to see if recent rises slow inflation down,” said Mr Gillham.