RBA’s Lowe: Too early to declare victory in the battle against inflation

“Too early to declare victory in the battle against inflation,” said Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe while speaking at the Morgan Stanley Australia Summit early Wednesday in Asia.

Additional comments

June rate rise followed information suggesting greater upside risks to bank’s inflation outlook.

Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required, depending on how economy and inflation evolve.

Ambition is to navigate narrow path where inflation returns to target and economy grows.

Still possible to navigate, but it is narrow path and likely to be bumpy, risks on both sides.

Evidence indicates that higher interest rates are working and that inflation is coming down.

April CPI reading has not changed assessment inflation is trending lower.

Job at central bank is to make sure period of high inflation is only temporary; important we succeed.

Acknowledge interest rate effects felt unevenly across community, but not a reason to avoid using them.

If we had not tightened policy, the cost of living would be higher for longer.

Desire to preserve job market gains does not mean board will tolerate higher inflation persisting.

Path back to 2–3% inflation is likely to involve a couple of years of relatively slow growth.

AUD/USD remains firmer

Despite showing little reaction to the news, AUD/USD stays firmer at the highest levels in three weeks by keeping the post-RBA rally during a five-day uptrend.

Statements from Q&A Session

Get into trouble if we accept all workers need to be compensated for inflation.

Perfectly understandable for lowest paid workers to be compensated for inflation.

If inflation stays high, we are going to feel a lot of pain.

What has changed in recent months is our assessment of risks.

Following the initial speech from RBA's Lowe, the Aussie central bank Governor responds to the Question and Answers (Q&A), which in turn allowed AUD/USD a further boost towards the north.

Also read: AUD/USD bulls approach 0.6700 as RBA’s Lowe sounds hawkish, Australia GDP eyed