Possible Australian rate hike puts cost of living in focus in election campaign

Australia PM Morrison

SYDNEY: Australia's ruling coalition is bracing for a possible rise in interest rates on Tuesday right in the middle of a national election campaign that could further increase living costs and hamper Prime Minister Scott Morrison's (pic) re-election efforts.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will decide later on Tuesday whether to lift official cash rates - for the first time in more than a decade - from record lows of 0.1% in a bid to tame inflation that surged at the fastest annual pace in two decades last quarter.