The Reserve Bank governor has acknowledged the impact the rate-hiking cycle has had on Australian households, while simultaneously defending the four per centage point increase as necessary to bring inflation back down to the two to three per cent target band. It's a target Phillip Lowe expects to be reached around the end of 2025. Still - he says it's too early to call an end to rate rises - as a number of factors - including persistent demand, weak productivity growth, and China's post-covid recovery threaten the economy.