Reserve Bank of Australia raises rates for third consecutive meeting, lifting them to early-2025 levels

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The Reserve Bank has delivered a third straight interest rate hike to contain growing inflationary pressures linked to higher fuel prices, even as it warned the Iranian war would deliver a major blow to the economy.

The widely expected decision to lift the cash rate to 4.35% from 4.1% comes as the central bank revealed a gloomy new set of forecasts that showed intensifying cost-of-living pressures alongside weaker growth.