WPI 0.8 qq, flat for 3rd straight quarter
WPI 3.6 yy, easing from decade high

SYDNEY, Aug 15 Reuters Australian wage growth held steady in the June quarter while the pace of annual pay awards unexpectedly slowed, raising hopes that inflationary pressures are weakening and building the case against further increases in interest rates.

Coupled with the release of dovish minutes from the July policy meeting , investors doubled down on bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia RBA would keep rates steady for a third straight month in September with a 91 probability, compared with 85 before.

The Australian dollar hit a session low of 0.6463 before stabilising at 0.6489, while threeyear bond futures pared earlier losses to be down just 2 ticks at 96.07.

The data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the wage price index WPI rose 0.8 in the June quarter from the previous quarter, against forecasts of a 0.9 increase.

Annual pay growth eased a little to 3.6 from a decade high of 3.7 in the previous quarter, breaking an accelerating trend seen since the March quarter 2021. That compared with forecasts of 3.7 growth.

Wage growth has been stuck at 0.8 qq for the past three quarters a somewhat surprisingly slow pace given the very low level of the unemployment rate, said Sean Langcake, head of macroeconomic forecasting for Oxford Economics Australia.

Despite higher interest rates, Australia39;s jobless rate is hovering near 50year low of 3.5 and…