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After 37 years, the final episode of Neighbours will air for 90 minutes from 7.30pm on July 28.

The episode will be televised across the country on channels 10 and 10 Peach.

It will cap off four days of 90-minute episodes starting on Monday, July 25.

In the UK, Neighbours fans can tune into the finale at 9pm on Friday, July 29, on Channel 5.

After nearly 9000 episodes, Neighbours is promising the finale will be gripping and emotional, offering something for all generations of fans dating back to the opening scene in 1985.

The cast bid a fond farewell to the soap last week, coming together on set for the final time ahead of Neighbours' studios in Melbourne packing down.

The finale will see fan favourites from the past return to Ramsay Street along with Erinsborough locals.

Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue are among those returning for the finale, with executive producer Jason Herbison describing their characters Scott and Charlene as the "ultimate Neighbours couple".

"We are thrilled that Jason and Kylie have come home to play a very special part in our series finale," Mr Herbison told his social media followers earlier this year.

The show announced its cancellation in March, following the loss of its main UK broadcast partner Channel 5.

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Many Australians can expect a "tough day" with the Reserve Bank widely expected to again lift the cash rate, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says.

Economists predict the RBA board will announce a 50 point rise in the cash rate, lifting it to 1.35 per cent.

RateCity estimates a 50-point rise will add $137 a month to a $500,000 mortgage, or $499 per month on a $750,000 loan.

"A bigger proportion of household budgets which are already stretched by the price of petrol, groceries, electricity and other essentials will be eaten up by mortgage repayments," Dr Chalmers told Sky News on Tuesday.

"People will find today's news really difficult. I think it will be a tough day for a lot of homeowners."

The board is seeking to use rate rises to push inflation back into its two to three per cent target band as it heads towards a predicted peak of seven per cent towards the end of the year.

Dr Chalmers said while some people had been able to build up buffers in their mortgages, others "are right on the margins".

"For them, today's decision will be incredibly difficult."

Dr Chalmers told the ABC the rate rise, which is an independent decision of the RBA, would add to other pressures on the federal budget and economy.

"Unfortunately, we have got a very difficult combination of circumstances, natural disasters, inflation, rising interest rates, and our job as the new government is to try and build an economy and budget which is as resilient as the Australian people prove themselves to be again and again."

Another hike is expected in August following the release of second quarter inflation data.

Former RBA board member John Edwards said a rate rise appeared to be a "very straightforward decision", with a strong economy, low unemployment, rising inflation and high export prices.

"Oil prices may have peaked out or are close to a peak and that's true also for food prices ... so I think there are reasons to think that in the second half of the year inflation will begin to slow down," he told ABC radio.

RBA shadow board member Sarah Hunter said the Australian economic outlook was positive, with retail spending up and business and government activity strengthening.

"It is appropriate for the RBA to continue with further policy rate normalisation," she said.

"Moving into 2023, it is likely to become appropriate for the RBA to slow or even pause interest rate rises.

"The full impact of the monetary tightening implemented in 2022 will not be known until well into 2023, and the board will need to monitor the data carefully to ensure that they haven't gone too far, too fast."

The board decision will be announced at 2.30pm AEST.

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Australians will have to dig a little deeper in their pockets after the Reserve Bank hiked the cash rate to 1.35 per cent.

RateCity estimates the 50 basis point rise - the third hike in three months - will add $137 a month to a $500,000 mortgage, or $499 per month on a $750,000 loan.

"Today's increase in interest rates is a further step in the withdrawal of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help insure the Australian economy against the worst possible effects of the pandemic," Reserve Bank governor Phil Lowe said in a statement following Tuesday's board meeting.

"The resilience of the economy and the higher inflation mean that this extraordinary support is no longer needed."

He said the size and timing of future interest rate rises would be guided by "the incoming data and the board's assessment of the outlook for inflation and the labour market".

"The board is committed to doing what is necessary to ensure that inflation in Australia returns to target over time."

The board is seeking to use rate rises to push inflation down from its 21-year high of 5.1 per cent back into its two to three per cent target band.

But global and domestic factors are pushing inflation towards a predicted peak of seven per cent by the end of the year.

"Inflation is forecast to peak later this year and then decline back towards the two to three per cent range next year," Dr Lowe said.

"As global supply-side problems continue to ease and commodity prices stabilise, even if at a high level, inflation is expected to moderate."

He said the Australian economy remained resilient and the labour market was tighter than it had been for some time.

However the board would be keeping an eye on household spending trends and the global outlook which was "clouded by the war in Ukraine and its effect on the prices for energy and agricultural commodities", as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged household budgets were already stretched by the price of petrol, groceries, electricity and other essentials and would now be eaten up by mortgage repayments.

"Today's decision by the independent Reserve Bank to increase interest rates by half a percentage point is very challenging news for hardworking Australians already doing it tough," Dr Chalmers said.

He said it was expected inflation would get worse before it got better.

"That's why we're working hard to deliver on our commitments to boost the capacity of the economy and reduce the cost of living, and why we fought for an increase to this year's minimum wage for 2.8 million Australians," he said.

Another hike is expected in August following the release of second quarter inflation data.

But some economists say the RBA may need to slow or even pause rate rises heading into 2023.

New data released on Tuesday showed while consumers were feeling anxious, they were still keen to spend.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported retail trade rose 0.9 per cent in May to be up 10.4 per cent on the year.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said new vehicle sales totalled 99,974 units in June, down 9.7 per cent on a year ago.

ANZ and Roy Morgan consumer confidence fell 1.2 per cent in the past week.

The housing market is already responding and will be closely watched as banks set their new higher loan rates.

The Corelogic Home Value Index for June showed house prices in Sydney and Melbourne dropped by 2.8 and 1.8 per cent respectively over the quarter, with Adelaide the only city showing a solid upward trend.

Eleanor Creagh, PropTrack senior economist, said despite the market implicitly pricing a cash rate of three per cent by December, it was likely the cash rate will end the year "closer to two per cent than three per cent".

Capital Economics' Marcel Thieliant said he had pencilled in another 50 basis point hike in August.

"And we now expect inflation to peak at eight per cent and expect the cash rate to rise to 3.5 per cent."

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