How high will interest rates rise in 2023?
Experts warning to Australians "brace for more interest rate pain in the year ahead".
After the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) increased the cash rate to 2.85% in its Melbourne Cup Day meeting, the major banks have adjusted their forecasts for when interest rates will peak.
What the Big Four banks are saying:
Westpac predicts rates could go as high as 3.85% by March 2023, while ANZ forecasts the cash rate will take a little longer to peak at that level in May.
NAB’s forecast is a little more conservative. It expects the interest rate to hit 3.6% by March 2023, which would push the average variable rate to 6.48%.
CBA expects interest rates to hit 3.10% by the end of the year and remain steady for the first half of 2023.
This follows seven consecutive interest rate rises aimed at curbing soaring inflation, which currently sits at 7.3% – Australia’s highest inflation rate since 1990.