Westpac Bank: Australia's core inflation in the second half of the year may stay at 4.0%

Senior economist Justin Smirk of Westpac Pacific Bank said that the future challenge facing the Reserve Bank of Australia is that core inflation may still be as high as 4.0% year-on-year in the second half of the year. Smirk stated that the surge in oil prices is affecting the country's economy through the transmission effect on prices, and overall inflation may exceed 5.0% year-on-year. Westpac Pacific Bank currently predicts that the Reserve Bank of Australia will be forced to raise interest rates three more times by August.