News: XIJ Australian shares close at three-week high; cenbank move in focus

	  Financials and energy stocks lead gains on ASX 

	  Mining stocks fall 0.8%  

	  Investors keenly await RBA's interest rate decision 

tomorrow

(Updates to close)

Australian shares closed at a three-week high on Monday, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) high-stakes policy meeting on Tuesday that will shed light on whether the central bank ups interest rates further or favours a pause.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) ended 0.6% higher at 7,223.00 points. The benchmark rose 0.8% on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters suggest the decision on whether to hike or hold rates is on a knife edge, with 14 of 27 predicting the cash rate to rise and the remaining 13 forecasting a pause.

"We think the decision is a closer call than implied by market pricing," BofA Securities analyst Izumi Devalier said.

At its last policy meeting in March, Australia's central bank indicated it might be nearly done tightening as consumer spending was slowing and there was less risk of a wages-driven inflation blow-out.

Data last week showed Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, partly due to a sharp retreat in prices for holiday travel and accommodation.

"The data points to an economy that is slowing down, but the weakness is unlikely materially worse than what the RBA was expecting a month ago," Devalier added.

New Zealand's central bank, which also has a policy meeting on Wednesday, is expected to slow the pace of monetary tightening as it keeps its focus on inflation, though risks from a global banking crisis add to economic headwinds.

Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 2.3%, as crude oil prices jumped following a surprise announcement by OPEC+ to cut production further.

Sector giants Santos (STO) and Woodside (WDS) gained 2.5% and 2.7%, respectively.

Financials .AXFJ rose 0.8%, with the big four banks gaining between 0.7% to 1.6%.

Mining stocks .AXMM fell 0.8%, with sector heavyweights BHP Group Ltd (BHP) , Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) , and Fortesque Metals (FMG) down between 0.9% and 2.5%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) finished down 0.4% at 11,838.79.