Interest rate hike decision will be outed as Reserve Bank minutes released

More clarity on the last interest rate decision will be detailed in the Reserve Bank Board’s minutes from the May meeting that are set to be released today.

Borrowers were spared more interest rate pain and rates were left unchanged, as was widely anticipated, but the Reserve Bank governor confirmed another hike was a topic of discussion.

Of interest in the minutes, due for release, will be how seriously the case to increase the cash rate was taken, as well as the board’s perception of risks to the economic outlook following hotter-than-expected inflation data.

Notably, the meeting was held before the Federal Budget, which included cost-of-living relief designed to put downward pressure on inflation.

The mindset of consumers will also be on display today when Westpac and Melbourne Institute release their latest sentiment survey.

Consumer confidence has been stuck at dreary levels in the face of higher interest rates and still-elevated prices, especially for necessary expenses such as rent and insurance.

There are signs the jobs market is weakening, which has been a bright spot for households in an otherwise tough economic climate.

The official jobless rate ticked higher in April and other indicators, including job ad numbers, support the narrative of a cooling market.

In April, employment platform Seek recorded a 4.7 per cent fall in job ad volumes over the month.

This was the largest decline in five months and followed fluctuating job ad activity for much of 2024.

Seek Australia and New Zealand managing director Kendra Banks said the April fall could in part be explained by public holidays disrupting hiring activity.

The rise in applications per role suggested competition for open roles was heating up, Ms Banks said.