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Data on spending by income and mortgagor status suggest that growth in consumption has slowed significantly over the past year or so across most household groups as cost-of-living pressures have weighed on household finances. High inflation has decreased the purchasing power of all households and has had a relatively similar…

The level of community awareness and understanding of basic economic issues can influence a central bank’s ability to achieve its goals, such as by anchoring the public’s inflation expectations in line with its inflation target. This article draws on novel data from a large-scale survey of Australian adults about their…

The Reserve Bank’s liaison program collects information from firms in Australia about current economic conditions and their expectations for future conditions, including their own prices. Firms’ observations provide a timely read on inflation. Over the past six months, firms have generally expected their prices growth to continue to moderate, but…

The Reserve Bank’s Committed Liquidity Facility (CLF) was used from 2015–2022 to enhance the resilience of the banking system to times of liquidity stress. Banks must hold high-quality liquid assets (HQLA), including government securities, as a buffer against liquidity stress. Historically, the low level of government debt in Australia limited…

The market for Australian state and territory government bonds is often referred to as the market for ‘semis’. Semi-government bonds are a key source of government funding and they form an important share of high-quality liquid assets in the Australian financial system. The COVID-19 pandemic, and state and territory government…

Banknotes can be used to make legitimate payments, but they can also be hoarded, lost or used to facilitate transactions in the shadow economy. Understanding how banknotes are used can assist policymakers in responding to changes in payment behaviour and demand for cash. This article examines the value of banknotes…