RBA's Hunter: November 2026 Rate Decision Won't End Inflation Fight

The Reserve Bank of Australia is not finished raising interest rates, Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter said, telling Bloomberg the inflation fight is "not quite yet" over. Her comments, reported October 25, 2026, point to another increase in the RBA's cash rate target when the board meets in early November, the central bank's next scheduled decision point.

What did Sarah Hunter actually say?

Hunter's phrase — "not quite yet" — is the operative signal in the Bloomberg report. It is a deliberate hedge: not a declaration that the RBA will hike at the next meeting with certainty, but a statement that the job of bringing inflation down has not concluded. In central-bank communication, assistant governors are typically used to test or reinforce a policy signal ahead of a board meeting without the full weight of a governor's remarks moving markets as sharply. Bloomberg's framing treats the comment as tilting the balance toward a further rate increase rather than a pause.

Who is Sarah Hunter, and why do her remarks carry weight?

Hunter holds the title of Assistant Governor at the Reserve Bank of Australia, according to Bloomberg's report. Officials at that level sit inside the RBA's policy apparatus and are briefed on the data the board will consider before its meetings. When an assistant governor publicly characterizes the inflation fight as unfinished, it is read by economists and traders as a preview of the tone the board itself may adopt, even though the formal decision rests with the full board, not with any single official's public remarks.

When does the RBA meet next, and what is at stake?

Bloomberg's report places the next policy decision "early next month" relative to the October 25, 2026 publication date, putting the meeting in early November 2026. That timing matters because it is the next point at which the RBA can translate Hunter's "not quite yet" language into an actual change in the cash rate target — the rate the RBA sets to influence borrowing costs across the Australian economy, from mortgages to business loans. The Bloomberg dispatch does not specify the current level of the cash rate or the size of any prospective move, so neither figure is reported here.

What does "not quite yet" signal for the size and timing of a hike?

The language is conditional by design. "Not quite yet" done fighting inflation is consistent with the RBA holding open the option of one more increase without committing the board to a specific size or to further hikes beyond November. Central banks frequently use this kind of phrasing to preserve flexibility: it moves market expectations toward tightening without boxing the board into a pre-announced path that incoming data — due before the meeting — could undercut. Bloomberg's report does not include additional quotes from Hunter elaborating on the pace or endpoint of the tightening cycle, and no inflation or employment figures are cited in the dispatch, so this analysis does not assign a probability to any specific outcome beyond what Hunter's comment implies: another increase is more likely than not before the RBA considers its work done.

What should borrowers and markets watch before the decision?

• The RBA board's early-November 2026 meeting date, the next formal opportunity to act on Hunter's signal.
• Any further public remarks from Hunter or other RBA officials in the lead-up to the meeting, which often sharpen or soften a signal like "not quite yet."
• Economic data releases scheduled before the meeting, which the board will weigh against the assistant governor's characterization of unfinished business.
• Market pricing for the cash rate target, which typically shifts in response to assistant-governor-level commentary even before the board votes.
• The RBA's post-meeting statement, which will state plainly whether the board agrees the inflation fight remains "not quite yet" finished or has concluded it.

Bloomberg's report is the sole sourced account of Hunter's remarks at publication, and it does not include the full text of her comments beyond the quoted phrase, nor does it cite specific inflation, employment, or cash-rate figures. Readers should treat the November meeting, not Hunter's remarks alone, as the point at which the RBA's actual policy stance becomes binding.