Monday 1st August 2022

For those hoping that inflation was peaking (anywhere), then Friday didn’t bring good news. PCE numbers in the US are rising, Europe’s CPI is climbing higher, whilst manufacturing from China has slowed. Clearly, we’re not out of the woods yet, with former US treasury secretary Larry Summers saying on Friday that the Fed hasn’t reached a neutral rate yet, and the fact that Jerome Powell has said they have is just “wishful thinking”. So, what does this all mean for the RBA tomorrow. NAB’s Taylor Nugent says the expectation is there will be a 50 basis point rate hike, but Philip Lowe has spoken about a narrow path “clouded in uncertainty” – is there an outside chance he will see the need to move even faster as global inflation rates show few signs of easing?