Week Ahead – RBA decision and US data on the menu

From xm.com Watch this video at https://www.energyexch.com/news/1264929-week-ahead-rba-decision-and-us-data.

It was an eventful week in global markets. The spotlight fell on the Federal Reserve, which shot down expectations it would cut interest rates in March, with Chairman Powell stressing that this is not the “base case" scenario. Even though inflation has declined substantially, Powell downplayed speculation that rate cuts are just around the corner, arguing that the Fed is still not fully confident it has won the war. He pointed to solid economic growth, resilient consumer spending, and a tight labor market as factors that could keep inflation above 2% for some time. Reading between the lines, his broader message was that rates will eventually come down, but not quite as quickly as markets had hoped. As a result, traders scaled back bets on a March rate cut, slashing the probability to around 35% from 60% ahead of the Fed decision.