Home topics news Source: Spelio on Flickr Finance News Finance RBA tipped to raise interest rates today Rhea Laxmi Nath May 3, 2022 The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) could potentially raise interest rates today for the first time in 11 years. Since the announcement of the 5.1 per cent consumer price index (CPI) reading for the March quarter, that topped the market expectation of 4.6 per cent, economists have been predicting RBA intervention through increased interest rates to counter surging inflation. The RBA has previously said that it wants inflation to be between 2 per cent and 3 per cent, fuelling predictions that they may move the cash rate target. The last raise took place in November 2010 when the official cash rate was raised by 0.25 per cent. In the last two years since the pandemic, interest rates have stayed at a record low of 0.1 per cent. Economists are predicting an increase by at least 15 basis points. “As the inflationary environment suggests, interest rates for both businesses and households are increasing, with the variable rate already rising ahead of any movement in the cash rate,” explained Anneke Thompson, CreditorWatch chief economist in its reflections on April’s economic updates. “Given the bank’s source capital on global markets, the increasing cost of debt is already being priced into the cost of Australian home loans. As it stands, given the causes of high inflation are widespread and complex, it is difficult to say how long the higher interest rate