Australian inflation: lower but not low
For the first time in a while, the more detailed quarterly Australian CPI figures undershot expectations. The downside inflation surprise has seen the AUD dip in knee-jerk fashion towards its recent lows (now $0.6760) with the data creating a bit of doubt in the minds of markets as to whether the RBA will hike rates again at the 1 August meeting. In terms of the data, headline inflation slowed to 6%pa. This is down from 7%pa in Q1 and a peak of 7.8%pa in Q4 2022. The market was looking for headline inflation to slow to 6.2%pa, while the RBA...