Analysis: The Australian central bank is still expected to raise interest rates in May.

In January, Australian household spending only increased by 0.3% compared to the previous month. Senior economist Jessie Cameron of the National Bank of Australia stated that this data indicates spending has remained steady and not accelerated. She added that combined with the GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2025 released on Wednesday, which showed poor spending performance in the last few months of last year and significantly below the predictions of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the central bank may be less concerned about the underlying momentum of consumer demand. However, the overall growth results under capacity pressures still make it likely for the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates in May.