澳大利亚央行将利率上调至15年高位，这意味着数百万澳大利亚家庭将面临更高的房贷还款压力。
Australia’s central bank has raised interest rates to a 15-year high, spelling higher mortgage payments for millions of Australian households.
澳大利亚储备银行（RBA）周二将基准利率上调0.25个百分点至4.6%，为2011年以来最高水平。
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday lifted the benchmark rate by 0.25 percent to 4.6 percent, its highest since 2011.
澳储行表示，通胀依然居高不下，此前预警的“上行风险”已成现实，包括因美国和以色列对伊朗的战争导致能源价格上涨，以及科技成本上升。
The RBA said inflation remained elevated and that previously flagged “upside risks” had materialised, including higher energy prices due to the United States-Israel war on Iran and rising tech costs.
澳储行货币政策委员会在声明中表示：“关于国内经济活动和通胀前景，仍存在高度不确定性。”
“There continue to be heightened uncertainties about the outlook for domestic economic activity and inflation,” the bank’s monetary board said in a statement.
声明称：“中东冲突仍未解决，存在通胀高于预期、经济活动低于预期的情景。”
“The Middle East conflict remains unresolved, and there are scenarios where inflation is higher and activity lower than forecast,” it said.
“全球石油供应中断正持续推高全球和国内能源价格及通胀。长期的不确定性也可能导致海外和澳大利亚经济增长放缓。”
“Global oil supply disruptions are maintaining upward pressure on global and domestic energy prices and inflation. A period of prolonged uncertainty may also cause growth to be lower overseas and in Australia.”Australia’s annual rate of inflation stood at 3.5 percent in July, well above the central bank’s 2–3 percent target.
澳大利亚7月年通胀率为3.5%，远高于央行2%-3%的目标区间。当政策制定者认为物价上涨过快时，央行通常会上调基准利率。
Central banks typically raise their benchmark interest rate when policymakers believe prices are rising too fast.
加息会提高借贷成本（包括房贷），从而抑制消费需求，降低通胀。
Higher interest rates raise the cost of borrowing, including mortgages, cooling consumer demand and bringing down inflation.
此次加息将给澳大利亚家庭带来进一步压力，这些家庭今年已承受了此前三次加息的冲击。
The latest hike is set to heap further strain on Australian households already grappling with three previous increases this year.
据Roy Morgan本月初发布的一份研究报告，截至7月，近三分之一的澳大利亚房贷持有者（近180万人）面临“房贷压力”风险——即家庭税后收入的25%-45%用于房贷还款。
In a research report earlier this month, Roy Morgan said nearly one-third of Australian mortgage holders, or nearly 1.8 million people, were at risk of “mortgage stress” – where households spend 25-45 percent of after-tax income on payments – as of July.
并不负责制定利率的澳大利亚财长吉姆·查尔默斯承认，此次加息将意味着许多澳大利亚人面临更大的困难。
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who is not responsible for setting interest rates, acknowledged that the hike would mean greater hardship for many Australians.
“我们知道许多澳大利亚人正面临着压力，这会让情况变得更加困难，”查尔默斯在一篇帖子中说道。他补充说：“全球范围内的通货膨胀和利率都在上升，但我们知道这些因素并不能减轻我们今天所做出的决策所带来的影响。”查尔默斯表示，政府将承担起“我们在抗击通货膨胀方面的责任”。
“We know a lot of Australians are under pressure and this will make things harder,” Chalmers said in a post on“Inflation and interest rates are going up around the world but we know that doesn’t take the sting out of today’s decision.”Chalmers said the government would take responsibility for “our part of the fight against inflation”.
“这意味着我们需要继续负责任地管理预算，继续推行减税措施和生活成本援助计划，并在充满不确定性的全球环境下应对我国经济面临的长期挑战，”他说。
“That means continuing to manage the budget responsibly, rolling out tax cuts and cost of living help, and addressing the longer term challenges in our economy in an uncertain global environment,” he said.