ASX Tumbles to New Lows Amid Wall Street Selloff and Rising Oil Prices

Australia's benchmark share index, the S&P/ASX 200, plummeted to its lowest level since July, dropping 0.58% to 8,699.6 points by mid-morning trading.

The decline comes as a sharp selloff on Wall Street and rising oil prices weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Oil prices continued their advance after an attack knocked out Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, the infrastructure designed to allow Saudi crude exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz entirely.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has already delivered three interest rate increases so far this year, and economists widely expect a fourth hike later this month as the central bank continues its effort to bring inflation back under control. According to ABC business editor Michael Janda, further interest rate increases are unlikely to meaningfully address the underlying drivers of persistently elevated inflation figures.