Philip Lowe: Recent trends in inflation

Address by Mr Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, to the Australian Business Economists (ABE), online and Sydney, 16 November 2021.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Thank you for the invitation to speak to the Australian Business Economists again. I am glad to have this opportunity to gather together with some of you in person, rather than just speak to my computer camera.

Today, I would like to focus on recent trends in inflation – both here and overseas. I will then discuss the implications for the RBA's monetary policy.

Over recent months, concerns about inflation have moved to the centre of many people's radar screens, after years of being at the periphery. This has coincided with headline inflation rates in some countries rising to their highest rates in a long time. Understanding the reasons for this higher inflation and how persistent it is likely to be are important issues for households, investors and central banks.