⁍ Australian consumer prices surged last quarter as one-off rebates linked to the coronavirus reversed and petrol prices rebounded.

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⁍ Annual inflation picked up to just 0.7%, having fallen 0.3% in the June quarter for the first negative reading since 1998.

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– Australia’s central bank is expected to cut interest rates to a record low of 0.1% next week, as the economy emerges from recession, Reuters reports. The move would be the third such cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia this year, and the first by any major central bank since the global financial crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The global economy is weaker than we thought a few months ago,” one economist says. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty about the strength of the global economy.” Australia’s unemployment rate is at 5.3%, its highest in 17 years, and analysts expect it to stay there for a while. “The economy is just emerging from recession,” one economist says. ” stubbornly elevated unemployment and weak demand is expected to remain subdued for some years.”