Why the focus on energy prices? Inflation is more likely to be driven by surging housing, transport and food costs

The average household spends a lot less on energy than on transport, food and just about everything else. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

One thing notably absent from Philip Lowe’s explanation of why the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates for a seventh straight month was any mention of energy.

Yes, inflation was “too high” and it was “putting pressure on the budgets of many households”. But the Reserve Bank governor did not single out electricity or gas prices as key culprits prompting the RBA on Tuesday to hike its key interest rate another 25 basis points to 2.85%.