IMF Urges RBA to Stay Hawkish, Warns of Upside Inflation Risks

The IMF's call for a hawkish RBA sits awkwardly with the global easing cycle, signalling that Australia's inflation problem is seen as more persistent than peers'. That matters for rate-sensitive sectors and the currency, since a prolonged restrictive stance widens the policy gap with economies already cutting. Whether the RBA treats the Fund's advice as validation or as external pressure is the open question, and the next policy meeting will reveal how much weight it carries.