Inflation up to 3.8% as price pressures rise and hopes for Reserve Bank interest rate cuts fall

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says government deciding on energy rebate extension in ‘next few weeks’ as cost of living continues to bite

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Inflation has climbed to 3.8% in the year to October, from 3.6% the month before, as Jim Chalmers flagged he could announce further energy bill subsidies for households in the upcoming midyear budget.

Electricity prices were 37% higher in the year to October, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics said mostly reflected the end of state government power bill rebates.