Economists fear recession as oil spike points to repeated rate rises

A growing number of economists expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates at least twice again this year, warning that the war in Iran threatens to push inflation higher even as the economy sours.

Most of the 38 economists polled for The Australian Financial Review quarterly survey said they expected the central bank to lift rates next month to 4.35 per cent, the third rise this year. The most hawkish, Westpac and Judo Bank, are forecasting three more increases by June next year, taking the cash rate to its highest since the global financial crisis.

Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/debt-markets/economists-fear-recession-as-oil-spike-points-to-repeated-rate-rises-20260330-p5zjym