As mentioned in last week’s outlook, Australia’s CPI data generally moves in line with New Zealand’s data. So I cannot say it came as a huge surprise when AU CPI data was broadly higher than expected, given NZ CPI data delivered the same blow to the RBNZ the week prior. Yet maybe the expectations were set too low. Inflation is slowing overall, it’s just not slowing as quickly as many had hoped (which is probably more in line with reality). At 3.6% y/y, headline inflation has slowed for a fifth consecutive month, and whilst the 1% q/q rate was above expectations by 0.4 points, the quarterly rate is trending lower ... (full story)