RBA interest rates decision LIVE updates: Reserve Bank expected to raise interest rates amid fuel price shocks

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is poised to strike a long-delayed $110 billion free trade deal with Europe as both sides aim to fortify relations with like-minded nations at a time of global economic uncertainty.

The deal has been in sight several times previously and fallen over due to disputes about the quantity of meat Australians could sell into European markets, particularly France and Ireland, whose farmers are reluctant to compete with Australian products.

Australia has raised its hopes that a deal will finally be reached early next week when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to travel to Canberra, months after her trip to Australia was first floated. The pair must still settle long-running tension over beef exports.

Trade Minister Don Farrell said he had a phone call with EU trade bosses on Monday night and told this masthead on Tuesday that he was “confident we can do a deal”.

You can read the full story from chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal here.

Australians are blaming Anthony Albanese and his government for the nation’s inflation pressures, according to the latest results from this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor.

They are cutting their spending on takeaway meals, dropping subscriptions for streaming services and putting off repairs around the house and on their cars to make ends meet.

Inflation has lifted from 1.9 per cent to 3.8 per cent over the past six months.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers at the weekend warned that the war in Iran, which has pushed oil prices above $US100 a barrel, could result in inflation climbing to the high fours. A former Reserve Bank economist has warned the institution may have to drive the country into a recession to bring inflation under control.

You can read the full story from senior economics correspondent Shane Wright here.

Even before today’s expected hike in official interest rates, the nation’s shoppers were in a foul mood.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan weekly measure of consumer sentiment, released this morning, has fallen to its lowest level since March 2020 when the nation was being shut down to stop the spread of Covid.

Confidence nosedived 4.9 per cent last week as Australians fretted about the war against Iran and its impact on petrol prices and inflation

“Households are increasingly pessimistic about the one-year and five-year outlooks for the economy, likely driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the shifting outlook for inflation and rate,” ANZ economist Sophia Angala said.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today’s rates decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia. My name is Nick Newling, and I’ll be taking you through today’s events.

The board is widely expected to raise interest rates at today’s meeting. The current cash rate is 3.85 per cent, after it was ticked up by 0.25 points in February.

The board’s decision will be announced at 2.30pm (AEDT), and will be followed by press conferences from Treasurer Jim Chalmers and RBA Governor Michele Bullock. Updates from both press conferences will be brought to you through this blog.