Australia likely to raise interest rates earlier

It will also likely strengthen speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will raise interest rates earlier than previously thought amid heightened global expectations of a pulling back of crisis stimulus following the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

SYDNEY: Australian unemployment tumbled in May in response to a burst of hiring, further fuelling expectations that Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe will not extend the timeline of the bank’s yield control measures next month.

The unexpected drop in the jobless rate to 5.1% in May, despite a paring back of government employment support points to a recovery that is charging ahead of the curve.