{"id":764778,"date":"2026-09-09T07:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T07:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/764778\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T07:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T07:04:16","slug":"interest-rates-predictions-major-bank-says-another-rate-hike-coming-in-matter-of-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/764778\/","title":{"rendered":"Interest rates predictions: Major bank says another rate hike coming in matter of weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The signs are mounting that a fourth interest rate hike<\/a> could be handed down at the end of the month, bringing the cash rate up to a 15-year high.<\/p>\n

While economists<\/a> are split on the exact timing of the Reserve Bank\u2019s<\/a> next move, there is growing consensus it will need to raise rates before the end of the year to clamp down on rising inflation.<\/p>\n

\"Martin<\/p>\n

Millions of Australians could be hit by higher interest rates in the coming months.\u00a0Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Macquarie Bank became the latest major financial<\/a> institution to forecast a hike when the RBA\u2019s monetary policy board meets next on September 28-29.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith unemployment still around three quarters of a percentage point below the pre-COVID level, the RBA now seems to feel that output remains above the economy’s potential, suggesting that more needs to be done to bring inflation back to target,\u201d chief economist Ric Deverell said.<\/p>\n

That forecast followed comments from two of the RBA\u2019s most senior officials indicating a hike is firmly on the table.<\/p>\n

Assistant governor Sarah Hunter said on Tuesday that \u201cthe board may well have to raise interest rates<\/a> to tackle [high inflation]\u201d.<\/p>\n

Later that day, deputy governor Andrew Hauser struck a similar tone, not going as far to confirm another hike, but saying it\u2019s under consideration even as the RBA tries to keep unemployment near record lows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very, very clear we have to hit that two to three per cent [inflation] range, aiming at the midpoint,\u201d he told the ABC\u2019s 7.30.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing it, as you say, over a longer period than some other central banks have done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we’re doing it in order to try to protect the jobs gains that happened during COVID.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf at some point it becomes clear that that is not a feasible path, we’ll take another path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Headline inflation slowed marginally to 3.5 per cent in July, but it was nothing to celebrate; the figure remains well outside the RBA\u2019s 2-3 per cent target, and was higher than expected, therefore increasing pressure on the bank to hike rates again.<\/p>\n

The trimmed mean \u2013 the RBA\u2019s preferred measure of core or underlying inflation \u2013 remained steady at 3.6 per cent, also higher than forecasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hauser said it was clear Australians<\/a> are fed up with skyrocketing prices<\/a>, and added his bank needed to better explain its decisions to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are furious about inflation,\u201d he told 7.30.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand why. It’s unfair. It hits people on low incomes. It damages price signals. It makes the job of companies difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they want us to do is our job and bring inflation down. And I understand that and I support that\u2026 it’s the most profound message that we get.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverywhere I go, I hear cost, cost, cost, inflation, inflation, inflation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that’s our responsibility. We have to put that right.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yes, we have to explain ourselves. Yes, we should communicate better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The RBA will hand down its next rates decision on September 29.\u00a0AFR<\/p>\n

Major banks all predicting another hike<\/p>\n

Macquarie\u2019s prediction of a September rate hike makes it the latest major lender to forecast more pain on the way for the millions of households with a mortgage.<\/p>\n

NAB has also pencilled in a hike on September 29, while the rest of the big four are tipping a November move from the RBA.<\/p>\n

Westpac was the last of the big four to update its forecast, announcing on Tuesday that a Melbourne Cup day hike is now the most likely scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cTactically, we believe RBA leadership would strongly favour a November hike over September,\u201d chief economist Luci Ellis said, but added a move in September remains possible.<\/p>\n

If the RBA does increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points, it would bring rates up to 4.6 per cent \u2013 the highest level since November 2011.<\/p>\n

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The signs are mounting that a fourth interest rate hike could be handed down at the end of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-764778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}