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The Economy, Stupid

Inflation’s jumped again - is another rate rise coming?

4/30/202630 min

Inflation has surged to its highest level in years, driven by soaring fuel prices, higher energy costs and global instability.

For households already squeezed by rate rises, the pressure is mounting. Is this a short‑term shock the Reserve Bank can look through or the start of another prolonged inflation fight?

What happens next for interest rates, wages, jobs, and the economy as a whole just one week before the Budget?

Guests:Diana Mousina, Deputy Chief Economist, AMPDavid Bassanese, Chief Economist, BetaShares

Show links:

See how the price of everything has changed, ABC News StoryLab, March 30, 2026

Consumer Price Index, Australian Bureau of Statistics, March 29, 2026

Why the official inflation rate feels wrong, The Economy Stupid, October 30, 2025

Stagflation is about to push unemployment higher: here's what to expect, The Economy Stupid, March 26, 2026

Clips

Would RBA choose recession?
Don’t match inflation rises
War’s first-month inflation hit
Recession risk vs rate hikes
Hawkish board, limited hikes
The wage‑price spiral risk
Peaks, pain, and probabilities

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 00:00

    [intro music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more [upbeat music] I'm David Marr, host of Late Night Live on Radio National Very suave, erudite kinda guy We're here to surprise, delight, and maybe enrage you from time to time.

  2. David Marr· Soundbite0:18

    We go where our curiosity leads Let's talk crazy.

  3. David Bassanese· Guest0:22

    Let's act crazy. Let's be crazy because then the enemy doesn't know what you're thinking Late Night Live, four new shows a week on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

  4. Peter Martin· Host0:33

    So concerned was the Reserve Bank when inflation hit 3.8% that it whacked up interest rates twice in February and March. But the latest figures just out, the first since the US attack on Iran, show inflation much, much higher at 4.6%. Inflation hasn't climbed that high since the explosion in prices as Australia roared out of the COVID lockdowns in 2022, an explosion that produced 10 consecutive rate hikes. And before then, or before then, inflation has scarcely been that high at all, not for the best part of 30 years. How bad is it really? Is it set to get a good deal worse? And does the Reserve Bank have the stomach

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