RBA Delivers Back-to-Back Rate Hikes in Split Decision (3)

Australia’s central bank raised its key interest rate for a second straight meeting on Tuesday, stepping up its battle against stubborn inflation as rising energy costs from the widening war in Iran threaten to intensify price pressures.

The Reserve Bank’s nine-member policy committee split five-to-four in favor of raising the cash rate to 4.1% from 3.85%. This was the first back-to-back hike since mid-2023 and reverses two of the three cuts delivered last year.

Governor Michele Bullock talked tough on inflation during her press conference on Tuesday, saying repeatedly that prices remained too high and that the board was ...