Omicron is expected to burn a hole in consumers' pockets

The highly contagious variant is expected to lead to supply chain disruptions, as people fall ill.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner says people will choose not to go out so much and prices are expected to go up.

She says for the Reserve Bank it's yet another negative supply shock that's going to lift inflation pressures, despite being bad for growth.

ANZ's predicting inflation of six percent next year but Sharon Zollner says it could go higher.