Half-time wrap:
Aussie shares swung in and out of positive territory as crude oil climbed and the Reserve Bank reaffirmed its willingness to raise interest rates further to contain inflation.
At the halfway mark, the ASX 200 was ahead 11 points or 0.15% after earlier dipping 12 points into the red. Gains in energy producers, healthcare providers, banks and miners helped offset other losses.
The energy sector rallied 0.8% after crude was boosted by a US inventory update. Brent crude jumped 1.82 or 2% to US$91.72 a barrel this morning.
New RBA Governor Michele Bullock used a "fireside chat" at a Sydney summit to reiterate the bank's commitment to bringing inflation back within its target range in a reasonable timeframe. Bullock said the bank was "very alert to upside risks on inflation".
She said the Board was "trying to bring inflation back down in a reasonable amount of time while preserving employment gains... by not really bringing the economy to its knees."
The yield on 10-year Australian government bonds has climbed 20 basis points in the last two sessions back towards a 12-year high. The rise in yields reflects growing expectations that benchmark rates could go up as soon as next month.
