Australia’s Largest Bank Downgrades Growth Forecast as OECD Warns on Interest Rate Hikes

Shoppers walk around Pitt Street Mall in Sydney, Australia, on June 07, 2022. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The largest bank in Australia has slashed its economic growth forecasts as it expects the central bank to continue raising interest rates throughout the latter half of 2022.

Gareth Aird, the head of Australian economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), anticipated that the RBA would lift the official cash rate by another 0.5 percent in July, followed by 0.25 percent rises in August, September and November. This would push the cash rate up to 2.1 percent from the current 0.85 percent.