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The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to put a dampener on Melbourne Cup Day celebrations with an anticipated return to rate hikes this afternoon.
Economists at the RBA will hand down their decision in whether interest rates will rise at 2.30pm today.
Most economists have tipped the bank board to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points, from 4.1 per cent to 4.35 per cent, when it meets ahead of the iconic race.
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There is even the potential now of a second consecutive hike in December, leaving Aussie household budgets battered ahead of the holiday season.
This would follow four consecutive months of keeping the official interest rate steady.
The renewed urgency of the RBA's rate decisions was prompted by the recent release of the September quarter inflation figured.
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They showed that although annual inflation continues to moderate, the prices of goods actually rose quicker in the September quarter than they did in the June quarter.
Should the RBA decide on the expected rise, it will be the highest the cash rate has been since November 2011.
It will also take the total increase in monthly repayments on a $750,000 mortgage since May 2022 to $1815.
