SYDNEY: Australian consumer price inflation slowed less than expected in the first quarter as service cost pressures stayed stubbornly high, a disappointing result for policymakers that led markets to abandon hopes for any rate cuts this year.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the consumer price index rose 1% in the first quarter, above market forecasts of 0.8%. "It's higher than we were expecting, higher than what the market was expecting and higher than what the RBA would be expecting, so that 1% number will be something that they'll be alarmed about," said Madeline Dunk, an economist at ANZ that tipped for a first rate cut in November.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has left interest rates at 4.35% for three straight meetings as confidence had grown that inflation was on track to ease back to its target band of 2-3% in late 2025.
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