RBA governor issues grim warning

RBA governor Michele Bullock appears at the Standing Committee on Economics at Parliament House, Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman One of Australia’s biggest banks put in a double rate hike just hours after Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock warned of nightmare triggers for another spike in just days. Ms Bullock told the House of Representatives economics committee in Canberra Friday morning that inflation triggers were actively “materialising” across the economy. With the RBA’s next cash rate decision set for Tuesday September 29, she questioned whether the 75 basis points of rate hikes delivered so far this year would be “sufficient” to get prices under control. “I recognise that higher interest rates are difficult for Australians with mortgages who are also facing cost-of-living pressures. But reducing inflation is essential,” she said. That has seen Westpac become the latest bank to hike, pushing up owner-occupier fixed home loan rates by as much as 0.45 percentage points – equivalent to around double a typical rate hike. Westpac didn’t just hike, it put in doubles. Source: Canstar It pushed its four- and five-year fixed terms above 7 per cent while keeping its low...