The decision to raise the cash rate by another 0.25 per cent to 3.85 per cent stunned the market out of near-universal complacency this month’s call would add up to another pause.Sydney Morning Herald
The market had mostly still assumed the bank was prepared to sit it out for another month – as it did in April – if only to give it more time to assess the delayed economic impact of rate rises so far. “While some households have substantial savings buffers, others are experiencing a painful squeeze on their finances,” the governor said. “There are also uncertainties regarding the global economy, which is expected to grow at a below-average rate over the next couple of years.”None of this uncertainty deters the bank from its “priority” of returning inflation to target.
The union movement will also be sensitive to the bank’s view that the pick-up in wages growth, while so far consistent with the inflation target, remains a risk without a matching lift in productivity – of which there’s no sign.