Australian shares creep higher despite RBA's tough talk

Key points

• Australian shares rose on Wednesday, shrugging off hawkish comments from a Reserve Bank official. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 0.16 per cent to finish at 8831.3, while the All Ordinaries rose 0.14 per cent.
• Earlier in the day, deputy governor Andrew Hauser told a Sydney investment conference that inflation was materially worse than the central bank had forecast. He said businesses were starting to view 3.5 per cent inflation as the new normal.
• The Australian dollar climbed to a three-week high after his remarks.