The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35% today.
That was widely expected.
After softer inflation data in late July, all four major banks had tipped the Board to leave rates exactly where they were.
So, good news? Well… sort of.
There’s no immediate RBA-driven increase to variable mortgage repayments today.
But the bigger story from the announcement — and from Ben Kingsley and Evan Lucas’ live analysis — is that inflation is still too high, household budgets are still under pressure, and another rate rise hasn’t been completely ruled out.
Inflation is easing. Your bills may disagree.
This was one of the most interesting parts of Ben and Evan’s discussion.
Headline inflation has eased to 3.8%. But that single number doesn’t necessarily reflect what it feels like to run a household each month.
Evan broke out a group of expenses he called “life admin”:
- Rent
- Council rates
- Utilities
- Transport
- Insurance
- Childcare
The stuff you generally can’t just decide not to pay.
Collectively, those kinds of unavoidable household costs have been rising much faster than the headline inflation rate.
Ben summed up the effect pretty simply: “That’s why we’re feeling poorer.”
At the same time, households are pulling back on more discretionary spending — things like furnishings and household goods — as the unavoidable expenses take up more of the budget.
So if you keep hearing that inflation is coming down but your own numbers don’t seem to feel much better yet, there’s a reason for that.
And the RBA isn’t declaring victory yet
The Board’s decision to hold was unanimous. But its language remained pretty firm.
The RBA made it clear that it remains prepared to increase the cash rate again if inflation risks start moving in the wrong direction.
Evan’s view was that two more hikes now appear less likely, but one more is still very much possible — and the next major quarterly inflation release will be particularly important.
In other words: Rates didn’t go up today. But that doesn’t mean we can assume they’re coming down any time soon either.
While rates are on hold, check in on your own money
You can’t control what the RBA does next, but you can control how well you understand your current position.
Take a few minutes to jump into Moorr and review your:
- Income
- Regular expenses
- Savings and buffers
- Mortgage and other debts
- Financial goals
- Overall wealth position
You might discover everything is tracking exactly as expected.
Or you might find that an expense has crept up, your buffer has thinned out or a goal needs adjusting.
Either way, having an up-to-date view of your money gives you something much more useful than trying to predict the next RBA move.
And if reviewing your numbers raises the question of “Is my home loan still competitive?”, head to the Professional Services section in Moorr to connect with a mortgage broker who can review your current setup.
The RBA’s decision matters. But what matters more is knowing what it means for your own money.
