Australian EconomyAustralian interest rates

Hiking interest rates won’t tame inflation

Leith van Onselen
Thursday 29 January 2026
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Alex Joiner, chief economist at IFM Investors, posted the following chart on Twitter (X) showing how underlying (trimmed mean) inflation in Australia has accelerated, raising the prospect that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will lift the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 bps at next month’s monetary policy meeting.

Trimmed mean inflation

Source: Alex Joiner (IFM Investors)

The result meant that trimmed mean inflation is tracking well above the RBA’s target:

Trimmed mean inflation
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.