Inflation in Australia continues to exceed comfortable levels, and the regulator is prepared to continue tightening policy if necessary. This was stated by Andrew Hauser, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

According to him, the current level of price pressure remains unacceptable, and the economy is showing signs of stability, including active growth in lending. This indicates that current interest rates are not yet restrictive enough to fully contain inflation.

Earlier, the RBA raised its key rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.85%, effectively partially reversing last year's easing. Core inflation accelerated to 3.4% in the fourth quarter, the highest level in more than a year and exceeding the regulator's forecasts. Core inflation is now expected to peak at 3.7% this year, well above the target range of 2-3%.

Following Hauser's comments, the Australian dollar strengthened and market participants began to price in the likelihood of at least one more rate hike this year.