Australia more confident about inflation target

Policy moves: Signage for the RBA is seen at the central bank’s building in Sydney. Traders are pricing a better than two-thirds chance the central bank will make its first interest-rate cut in February, and are fully pricing two reductions by July. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank is more confident that inflation is moving sustainably toward target, but it’s still too soon to conclude the battle is won given a recent pick-up in consumption and a still-tight labour market, minutes of the December meeting show.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) board discussed scenarios in which future policy would be eased to boost economic growth or stay at current restrictive levels, according to minutes of the Dec 9-10 meeting.