RBA statement marks change in outlook but still dampens hike expectations

The Reserve Bank of Australia met market expectations in its first statement on monetary policy of 2022, confirming the imminent end of bond purchases and taking a markedly more positive tone on the economic outlook. But analysts interpret the lack of a move to a more aggressive rate hiking cycle as a more dovish tone than the reserve bank could have taken, pushing back higher rate expectations to the second half of the year.