Inflation falls, but interest rate hikes still likely, say economists | The Business | ABC News

[Music] Wing Chun Master Nathan Davis is fighting his greatest challenge inflation he's giving it all his might but class numbers are down as the rising cost of living forces his customers to cut back now with the interest rate hikes I think from what I've heard from clients here is they've got to either pay their mortgage or do their training it's a tough battle for business owners

more than 14 percent higher prices for dairy bread cereal and takeaways also kept food prices elevated excluding travel and volatile items like fuel the decline in inflation is more modest and still double the reserve bank's Target by no means does it suggest that we're kind of out of the woods when it comes to this inflation fight that we're in economists expect more action from The Reserve

Bank we expect to see a couple more interest rate hikes you know whether that comes in July or not is kind of up for grabs but you know if it's not in July I'd expect to see another couple of hikes in August and September rates are the only tool the RBA has in its fight against the higher cost of living but they hurt Australians with a

mortgage and the renters they lease to the treasurer says a better budget surplus than previously anticipated is the weapon he's wielding in the battle as it will take money out of the economy there are a lot of people doing it tough and we've got a responsibility to take some of the edge off these cost of living pressures where we can self-funded retiree Joseph halwagi is feeling

the pinch from higher prices let me demonstrate to you the impact of the cost of living on some very simple items okay here we have a tune of tuna and it's a house brand irrespective of whether it is from Kohl's or Woolworths or Aldi they've all gone up at the same time from 90 cents to a dollar and 10 cents that's 22 percent frozen food frozen

veggies they're going up by 15 to 20 percent Joseph has been cutting back on things like his health care to save costs where he can we have to balance our budget in in the sense that I have to miss out on a lot of things we keep on dipping into our saving and eventually we'll run out that's the reality of life a reality Nathan is facing

two as he considers the viability of his business I really don't want to have to close this place but it is getting to the point it's looking like it may have to happen if things don't turn around fairly soon I turn around many would like to see but could be waiting a while with the economy set to slow further foreign foreign