One of the main messages from Bullock is that today’s decision was as much about timing as anything else.
There was no quarterly inflation data for the board to assess since the last rate cut in May (that gets released in a few weeks), and the next meeting is little more than a month away.
“The board’s decision today was recognising that, look, there’s a few weeks, five weeks, until the next meeting,” Bullock says.
“By then, we will know what the June quarter CPI is and if it comes in … a little bit at the margin, we’re a little bit worried.
“But if it … continues to decline, then that validates our easing path. So that’s what we’re waiting for.
“And that’s the reason the difference in opinion amongst the board wasn’t so much directionally, it was about timing.”
