Australia’s Melbourne Institute (MI) Inflation Expectations rose sharply in April 2026, climbing to 5.9% from 5.2% in March 2026, according to data updated on 16 April 2026.
The acceleration in expectations suggests that surveyed consumers now foresee a faster pace of price increases than they did a month earlier. The 0.7 percentage point rise from March to April points to growing concern about future cost-of-living pressures within the Australian economy.
With expectations edging higher, market participants and policymakers are likely to pay close attention to whether this shift becomes entrenched, as inflation expectations can influence wage demands, pricing decisions, and overall economic sentiment in the months ahead.
