Economics
Aussie Bulls Bolstered by Inflation Surprise
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Bulls on the Australian dollar, the world’s worst-performing major currency in the past year, are predicting a rally after a surprise acceleration in inflation forced traders to slash bets on further interest-rate cuts.
The trimmed mean of core prices rose 2.6 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, data showed yesterday, above the mid-point of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2 percent to 3 percent target range. Traders dropped the odds of a Feb. 4 rate cut to 7 percent from 17 percent and the Aussie rose as much as 0.9 percent yesterday.