Australia’s Cooling Inflation Opens Door to RBA Rate Cuts
- Traders boost bets on February policy easing to more than 90%
- Services inflation remains elevated driven by rents and health
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Australia’s core inflation eased by more than expected in the final three months of 2024, opening the door to an interest-rate cut as soon as next month and sending the currency lower.
The annual trimmed mean gauge of consumer prices, which shaves off volatile items, rose 3.2% in the three months through December, compared with an expected 3.3% gain, official figures showed Wednesday. On a quarterly basis, core consumer prices rose 0.5% versus a forecast 0.6%.