The Reserve Bank’s governor, Michele Bullock, has effectively ruled out further rate cuts and flagged that hikes may be needed in 2026 if the recent inflationary rebound proves persistent.

Speaking at a press conference after the widely expected decision to hold the cash rate at 3.6%, Bullock seemed surprisingly upbeat as she delivered the bad news to the roughly 3.3 million households with a mortgage.

“I would say at this moment that, given what’s happening with underlying momentum in the economy, it does look like additional cuts are not needed.”

After months of umming and ahhing about “upside and downside” risks to the outlook, the recent string of economic data has clarified matters for the RBA board members.

“Their focus now has moved much more towards inflation and being alert to the possibility that if that really is staying up, then they might have to do something,” the governor said.

Just in case anybody was not getting it, Bullock was happy to fill in the blanks: “I don’t think there are interest rate cuts on the horizon for the foreseeable future.

“The question is, is it just an extended hold from here? Or is it [a] possibility of a rate rise? I couldn’t put a probability on those, but I think they’re the two things that the board will be looking closely at coming into the new year.”

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If she is correct, this will be the shortest and shallowest rate cut cycle in the 30-year history of the independent central bank: just three cuts delivered in February, May and August.

It’s sure to leave many mortgage holders feeling short-changed, especially given it follows the RBA’s equally historic 13 rate hikes through 2022 and 2023.

Nor are just three rate cuts a great return for the Albanese government’s economic strategy.

It leaves Jim Chalmers exposed to the Coalition attack line that Labor’s “spendathon” is to blame for overheating the economy.

What’s more, the treasurer has already warned Australians they should brace for more bad news in next week’s mid-year budget.

Fiscal pressures are intensifying and that demands some “difficult decision” – such as this week’s decision to put an end to household energy bill rebates.

Plus, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed consumer price growth jumped to 3.8% in the year to October – far higher than expected, and well above the top end of the central bank’s 2-3% target range.

Bullock, wary of incurring the treasurer’s wrath, was quick to hose down any suggestions that she has had any “difficult conversations” with Chalmers about the level of government spending.

“I’ve said a number of times that governments … have a job to provide services and infrastructure to Australians. They have a lot of things to juggle, and at the same time try to make sure that they contribute to bringing inflation down, which I think is very top of mind for them.

“And whenever I speak to the treasurer, he’s always very conscious of that.”

The RBA board next meets in February, at which point Bullock and her board will know more about whether the rise in inflation is here to stay, and what they might need to do about it.

NAB’s chief economist, Sally Auld, is already warning there’s a “live” possibility that a hike could come as soon as this next meeting.

Not the Christmas message many would have wanted, but a good reason to not overdo the festive spending this year.

• Patrick Commins is Guardian Australia’s economics editor