No more excuses: the time has come for the RBA to cut interest rates

‘This was the last major set of data everyone has been waiting for in order to gauge what the Reserve Bank board will do when it finally (after two months off) meets on 17 and 18 February.’ Photograph: Steven Saphore/EPA

And just like that the Reserve Bank ran out of excuses. After the release of the December quarter inflation figures, the RBA not only should cut interest rates, but it almost certainly will. Failure to do so would be one of the most political and misguided decisions the RBA would have made in recent history.

The December quarter inflation figures released on Wednesday showed prices in 2024 rose just 2.4% – well within the RBA’s target range and the trimmed mean measure of core inflation slowed appreciably from 3.5% to 3.2%.