It’s rare that economic figures can put a federal budget in the shade in just one day, but the September quarter inflation figures came close. The annual rise of the Consumer Price Index of 7.3% was the fastest since June 1990 and suggests the Reserve Bank shall keep increasing rates even if a large driver of prices comes from overseas.
It really does deserve noting how unusual is this latest spurt of inflation. From 1970 to 1990 there were just five quarters where inflation was growing below 5%. Then after the 1990s recession, when inflation targeting became the order of the day, things flipped.
