Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock said on Friday that underlying inflation, "remains too high," noting that, even though there has been some progress on inflation, it has been "very slow."
Speaking before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics in Canberra, Bullock added that the bank's forecasts see underlying inflation by the end of this year "still sitting around 3.5%." She commented on the bank's decision to keep its cash rate unchanged at 4.35%, saying that the Board's "message" was that it is "premature to be thinking about rate cuts," seeing as how inflation is still too high.
"Based on what the Board knows at present, it does not expect that it will be in a position to cut rates in the near term," Bullock added, stressing that the alternative of higher inflation for longer is "much worse."
