RBA’s Kent: Not ruling anything in or out for interest rates

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor Christopher Kent crossed the wires in the last hour, saying that the recent data reinforce the need to be vigilant to upside inflation risks.

Additional Quotes:

• Policy contributing to slower growth of demand and lower inflation.
• Not ruling anything in or out for interest rates.
• The cash rate is above our range of estimates of the nominal neutral rate.
• Financial conditions are particularly restrictive for households.
• Conditions are restrictive for smaller businesses, less so for larger.
• Mortgage payments at record 10% of household disposable income.
• Higher rates provide an incentive for all households to save more and borrow less.

Market Reaction:

The Australian Dollar (AUD) reacts little to the comments and remains at the mercy of the US Dollar (USD) price dynamics, which continues to be underpinned by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials. The AUD/USD pair was last seen trading around the 0.6440-0.6435 region, slightly lower for the second straight day, though remains confined in a familiar short-term range.