Consultancy firm Deloitte warns that Australia's Reserve Bank has the potential to cause a recession.
Some economists are warning we're heading for an unnecessary recession. Economists at the consultancy firm Deloitte are warning of a potential recession should the Reserve Bank keep hiking interest rates. Australian consumers surprised everyone with their continued appetite to spend all through last year despite the official cash rate jumping from 0.1 percent to 3.1 percent and inflation rocketing to its highest level since the early 1990s. Retail spending held up remarkably well. But the economists at Deloitte believe consumers are about to run out of steam, saying there are already signs that households are feeling the pinch from falling house prices, higher mortgage repayments and expenses like rent, petrol and groceries getting ever more expensive. Something which economists are watching closely is how well households cope with fixed rate mortgages expiring this year. Several hundred thousand fixed rate mortgages will roll off - meaning borrowers will need to t