Australia central bank leaves door open to February rate cut

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s top central banker on Tuesday left open the door to a cut in interest rates as early as February, but emphasised the flow of economic data would have to give the bank more confidence that inflation was slowing as desired.

Speaking after a policy meeting, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock noted that recent figures on economic growth, consumer demand and wages had been softer than expected, but cautioned that inflation was still elevated.

Bullock added that the bank would not necessarily need two more quarterly readings on inflation before acting on policy, and it would be watching all the data up to the next meeting on Feb. 18.