Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe, speaking at a parliamentary economics committee in Melbourne, said that further appreciation of the Australian dollar "would cause a slower pick-up in inflation and slower progress in reducing unemployment." He also said that the RBA had tools to intervene in forex market but noted that would deploy them only in an extreme scenario.

The official noted that rates would rise over time, but average interest rates would be lower than in the past. According to him, the RBA does not expect full employment for at least 2.5 years, while inflation is likely to continue to increase gradually. "Our central scenario is for GDP to grow at an average of around 3 percent over the next couple of years," he said, adding that he would like to see annual wages growth of 3.5 percent or more as economic growth picks up.