Laura Bessarati

We were down by

less than a tenth of 1% at one stage, but we have seemed to fall again as the session has gone on.

At the moment, down by roughly a quarter of 1% heading into the close.

So that means a seventh straight session of declines for the Aussie market, which is our longest losing streak since June 2022.

All right, let's talk about inflation numbers because I'm sure that's what everyone is waiting for.

And, you know, I'm sure it's spread like wildfire.

I'm sure everyone's heard about it by now.

But let's look at the numbers very high level because the March data was, of course, the first time that we got a chance to look at how the war has impacted us here in Australia.

And we did see inflation jump to 4.6% year on year.

That's its highest level since 2023.

That's up sharply from 3.7% previously, but still a little softer than the 4.8% that markets were broadly expecting.

You know, markets were expecting it to be even worse.

So I guess it wasn't quite as bad as feared.

But if you look at the detail, unsurprisingly, it was driven by a surge in petrol prices, of course, following the outbreak of the war.

Yeah, and that could take the cash rate to 4.35%, which could be its highest level since December 2024.

Now, in terms of the CBA economists' view, they reckon that the RBA will hike, but said there is a small possibility that they could take to the sidelines to wait and see how key indicators track from here.

So it could be another split decision.

But look, if they do hike, the CBA reckons that they could be, that could be the last one for a while as households struggle to navigate three rate hikes this

and also higher energy prices.

So Tuesday is going to be an absolutely huge day, 2.30pm Sydney time is when that decision will be handed down.