More from Bloomberg:

  • Australian expectations for inflation have slumped to a five-year low
  • The three-year inflation swap fell to 1.99 percent yesterday, the lowest level since July 2009.

Hideo Shimomura, chief fund investor in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management:

  • Australia is an oil importer, so declining crude prices reduce inflationary pressures
  • Its commodity exports like iron ore and coal remain weak and the negative impact on terms of trade will continue for a prolonged period

Commonwealth Bank of Australia says inflation probably slowed last quarter to an annual pace of 1.8 percent as fuel prices declined:

  • That would take annual growth below the RBA’s target for the first time since mid-2012

Michael Blythe, chief economist at CBA:

  • “The odds tilted towards a very low headline outcome as petrol prices fell …
  • He expects the RBA to ‘look through’ the current petrol price for the purpose of policy deliberation

–

Interesting comment from Blythe re ‘looking through’ the decline in petrol prices. but I’m not so sure … perhaps it can be couched in positive terms at prompt an RBA cut? (See this for more along these lines.)