Treasurer warns of worsening inflation scenario



Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned inflation in Australia “will be worse before it gets better”.
Appearing on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, Chalmers said it was likely that inflation would be significantly higher than the 5.1% figure in the March quarter.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, Philip Lowe, previously said last week that he expected inflation would peak at 7% before falling in 2023. In response, Chalmers said he felt this figure “doesn’t seem to be wildly off mark”.
“Inflation will be worse before it gets better,” he said. “That’s the expectation across the board and that’s a difficult situation that we need to deal with before inflation hopefully moderates through the course of next year.
“Inflation will be significantly higher than what was in the last Government’s most recent Budget, certainly higher than the 5.1% we saw in March."
Chalmers said he would be able to give a more accurate forecast at the end of July.
Recommended for you
Women are expected to inherit US$124 trillion through the intergenerational wealth transfer, but Capital Group has found they are twice as likely to rely on social media for advice over a financial adviser.
Challenger Investment Management has raised $350 million during the offer period for its new ASX-listed investment structure.
A week after Lonsec downgraded multiple funds from Metrics Credit Partners, rival research house Zenith Investment Partners has opted to retain its ratings for the same funds.
Strong adviser engagement has helped Praemium reach $1 billion in inflows on its Spectrum offering, with a deal with Western Australian wealth firm Euroz Hartleys expected to add as much as $2 billion.