Inflation & Prices
Australia’s Cooler Inflation Bolsters Case for RBA to Stand Pat
- Consumer prices ease following an 8% annual drop in fuel costs
- Currency extends losses to 1% as traders pared rate-hike bets
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Australia’s inflation slowed more than expected in May, bolstering the case for the Reserve Bank to pause its 14-month tightening cycle at next week’s policy meeting and sending the currency lower.
The consumer price indicator rose 5.6% in May from a year earlier, the smallest increase since April 2022, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Wednesday. That was well below economists’ estimate of 6.1%, with Barrenjoey Markets Pty Ltd. the sole forecaster to predict the reading.