Bullock was hawkish earlier on the week:
- RBA leaves cash rate unchanged at 4.35%, as expected
- RBA governor Bullock: Inflation progress has been slow for a year now
- RBA governor Bullock: A rate cut is not on the agenda in the near-term
- The response to the RBA meeting yesterday is a 25bp rate cut priced for December 2024
And, same again today:
- RBA Governor Bullock: Don't expect to be back in 2-3% target range until end of 2025
- "The most recent inflation reading shows that while inflation is lower than it was a year ago, it is still too high. Inflation in many goods prices has declined but inflation in services prices is high and proving very sticky."
- "I know this (raising rates) is not what people want to hear. But the alternative of persistently high inflation is worse. It hurts everyone,"
- "We don’t expect to be back in the 2–3% target range until the end of 2025 – over a year away. This is why the Board explicitly considered whether another interest rate rise was required to ensure inflation continues to decline."
AUD/USD has risen on the session,. adding a little more: