08/01 Indices, page-34

AFR
better nos but still above target

The number: The monthly headline consumer price index indicator slowed to 4.3 per cent for the 12 months to November, from 4.9 per cent in October, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Market consensus was 4.4 per cent.Why it matters: This is the last key piece of economic data that will help inform the Reserve Bank’s next decision on monetary policy when it meets in February. A small number of economists are still predicting the RBA will have to hike once more this cycle to tame sticky services inflation.What has changed: Traders globally have been ramping up rate cut bets in the US and elsewhere on expectations that central banks have done enough to tame inflation. In Australia, market pricing ascribes a 3 per cent chance of a rate hike next month and are fully priced for a rate cut in August.What next: The RBA reconvenes on February 6 after an extended summer break. The central bank last raised rates in November.