Inflation data likely to settle RBA rate debate

Dim view: Pedestrians cross a street in the central business district in Sydney. Australia is scheduled to release CPI figures today amid forecasts of headline consumer prices advancing 3.8% in the second quarter. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Debate over whether Australia’s central bank needs to deliver a late-cycle policy tightening is likely to be resolved with the release of quarterly inflation data this week, and the currency is set to be swept up in the fallout.

Headline consumer prices probably advanced 3.8% in the second quarter from a year earlier, from 3.6% in the prior period, economists predicted ahead of tomorrow’s release.