SYDNEY, March 23, 2026, 04:10 AEDT
Australian stocks are starting the week looking uncertain. The S&P/ASX 200 finished Friday at 8,428.4. Brent crude, meanwhile, wrapped up at $112.19 a barrel—marking its strongest close since July 2022.
Wednesday brings February’s consumer price index, Australia’s key inflation number, set for release at 11:30 a.m. AEDT. The data arrives just after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s narrow 5-4 decision to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.1%. “The domestic data flow alone justified a rate hike today,” said Commonwealth Bank economist Belinda Allen. Australian Bureau of Statistics
Offshore, Tuesday’s flash PMIs—those business activity snapshots—are set to give the first real sense of whether the Middle East conflict is rattling corporate sentiment. Wall Street wrapped up Friday with the S&P 500 logging its fourth weekly drop in a row, underlining that the ASX isn’t reacting to this shock alone.
There’s also a new round of company-specific risk swirling through the resources complex. Rio Tinto closed its Amrun and Andoom bauxite operations in northeast Queensland as Cyclone Narelle rolled in, and shares slid up to 4% after the news, according to Reuters.
Fuel remains under scrutiny. Energy Minister Chris Bowen, speaking Sunday, said there’s no plan to ration fuel for now. That said, Australia is sitting on 38 days’ worth of petrol, with diesel and jet fuel stocks covering 30 days. The update came after six Asian shipments were canceled, according to .
The impact stretches far past the pump. Last week, Reuters noted that smaller miners and farmers had begun tweaking their operations or shifting delivery plans as the diesel pinch intensified. CLSA analyst Baden Moore flagged that Australia remains “entirely dependent on those imports.” Reuters
Woodside and Santos could see attention shift for a separate reason. According to Reuters, Asia spot LNG prices have now doubled to hit three-year highs since the war broke out. This comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked Treasury to run the numbers on a windfall gas tax before the May budget—a proposal that industry CEO Samantha McCulloch described as coming at “the worst possible time” for a new levy. Reuters
Still, the week’s direction could flip fast. If the CPI lands softer, some heat from last week’s RBA hike would fade. But oil climbing again? That would crank the pressure right back up. IG analyst Tony Sycamore flagged President Donald Trump’s 48-hour Hormuz warning as a “ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty” hanging over markets. Reuters
