Insight - Case for rate hikes heads into contested territory

Inflation uptick: A man walks past the RBA in Sydney. Australia’s central bank boosted its benchmark interest rate for a fourth consecutive month to a six-year high of 1.85%. — AP

THE inflation battle is the most desirable real estate in global monetary policy. Most titans of central banking are emphatic that rapid price increases are the scourge of the moment, going so far as to countenance recession as an acceptable price to pay for victory.

A parade of Federal Reserve (Fed) officials in recent days has sought to emphasise this message – though a slump isn’t their forecast.