RBA to maintain key rate to restrain price pressures

Soft landing: Bullock speaks at an event in Sydney. The central bank will update economic forecasts at its policy meeting today, after which the governor will hold a press conference. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank will likely keep its key interest rate at a 12-year high and stick with it for much of the year to restrain inflationary pressures underpinned by a surprisingly tight job market.

All-but-one of the economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the reserve bank will hold the cash rate at 4.35% for a fourth straight meeting today, while reinstating a hawkish bias to acknowledge sticky consumer prices.