SYDNEY, July 5 Reuters With a July policy meeting done and dusted, the head of Australia39;s central bank is waiting to hear if he will remain at the helm or take an early exit as past policy missteps come back to haunt him.

Markets are still in the dark whether Treasurer Jim Chalmers will reappoint Reserve Bank of Australia RBA Governor Philip Lowe or bow to public pressure for a new pair of hands at an institution that stumbled over its policy messaging during the pandemic.

Chalmers is to decide this month whether to extend Lowe39;s current sevenyear term when it ends on Sept. 17, and has been frustratingly silent on the issue.

Lowe has been under a cloud since repeatedly saying in 2021 that interest rates would not rise until 2024, only to reverse course and hike in mid2022 when inflation unexpectedly surged.

In November, Lowe apologised to people for taking out mortgages based on his guidance, saying At the time we thought it was the right thing to do and I think, looking back, we would have chosen different language.

While the RBA provided some relief to aggrieved borrowers on Tuesday by leaving rates steady after 12 painful hikes, Chalmers was not around to give his usual postmeeting conference and will not be back in work until next week.

Lowe is due to give a speech on the economy on July 12 and is bound to be asked about his future, but is likely to reply that it is all up to Chalmers.

Markets have so far been sanguine about the drawnout process, assuming…