Aussie central bank and largest lender at odds

SYDNEY: While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia share a common heritage, they couldn’t be further apart on the outlook for wages and inflation in today’s economy.

The central bank sees a potential untapped pool of workers still available and firms doing all they can to avoid pay rises, prompting governor Philip Lowe to declare higher wages remain “some way off.” The nation’s biggest bank sees the tightest labour market since 2013 and workers switching jobs to win pay hikes, with economist Gareth Aird saying higher wages and prices loom.