The inflation genie remains out of the bottle.

That’s the takeout from today's decision by the Reserve Bank to leave official rates on hold at 4.35 percent, despite mounting evidence that the economy and household budgets are both struggling.

RBA Governor Michelle Bullock has been at pains to impress that INFLATION remains the bank’s main focus, and right now the rate of inflation is still above the Reserve’s upper limit of 3 percent.