Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) policy makers must have breathed a sigh of relief after witnessing the new release of inflation data in the Asian session today.
Australia's annual consumer price index (CPI) unexpectedly recorded a slower reading in October with an increase of 6.9% from 7.3% recorded in September.
The reading was also well below expectations for a higher jump of 7.6% by the market.
This post indirectly fueled the market perception that inflation in Australia had reached its peak.
However, the latest data released only covers two-thirds of the price data used in the ABS quarterly CPI.
As such, there is a risk of higher inflation figures for the entire October-December quarter.
Australia's central bank has started to slow its interest rate hikes in the last two policy meetings with an increase of 25 basis points.
The RBA has raised interest rates by 275 basis points to a 9-year high of 2.85% in an effort to fight inflation.
