RBA December minutes: Upside inflation risks had diminished

I posted a recap of this meeting as a bit of a preview of this. Its here:

• RBA’s (slightly) softened tone

Headlines via Reuters:

• Policy needed to be “sufficiently restrictive” until confident on inflation.
• The board had minimal tolerance for inflation remaining above target for too long.
• The board had gained confidence on inflation since the prior meeting, but risks remained.
• Future data in line or weaker than forecast would give more confidence on inflation.
• It would then be appropriate to begin relaxing the degree of policy tightness.
• If data proved stronger, it could mean a longer period before easing.
• The board saw signs policy was not as restrictive as the level of the cash rate would suggest.
• The labor market was resilient, and service inflation was more persistent.
• Wages had slowed more than expected, which could mean the labor market was not as tight as thought.
• Monthly CPI suggested modest downside risk to Q4 inflation forecasts.
• Upside inflation risks had diminished, and downside risks to activity had grown.
• The board noted more data and updated forecasts would be available by the February meeting.
• It was not possible to judge the impact on Australia of Trump policies until more is known.

AUD/USD little changed around 0.6240 (despite my rant earlier 😉 )

Full text here

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.