November RBA rate hike likely locked in as high inflation lingers

Aussie households can expect the chance of a rate hike next week to have significantly increased off the back of new data published on Wednesday.Latest inflation figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show underlying inflation was 3.6% in the 12 months to September, a slight uptick from a new revised figure of 3.5% for August.It will be disappointing news for the Reserve Bank, which has pushed through four interest rate hikes in just nine months that look to be having little effect on Australia’s economy so far.The bank’s monetary policy board will meet again on Monday, with chances of a fifth increase now looking significantly stronger.It comes amid a flurry of public appearances from RBA officials recently, all sharing the common message that households should expect economic pressures to worsen before they improve."Today’s figures reinforce the concerns the Reserve Bank has expressed in recent weeks," Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith said. "Progress in reducing inflation has stalled, and the longer that persists, the greater the risk that businesses and households begin to treat above-target inflation as normal."RBA officials have been out and about in r...