JPY: USD/JPY - Drifts Higher, Looks Toward 160 Again As USD Rebounds

• South Korea to Sell KRW500bn 2.75% 20-Year Bonds
• Hong Kong to Sell HK$14.6 Bn 182-Day Bills
• Hong Kong to Sell HK$68.057 Bn 91-Day Bills
• Bank of Thailand to Sell THB65 bn of 91-Days Bills
• China to Sell CNY135 bn 2036 Bonds
• China to Sell CNY130 bn 2029 Bonds
• MAS to Sell 4-Week Bills
• MAS to Sell 12-Week Bills
• Indonesia to Sell 5% 2030 Sukuk Bonds
• Indonesia to Sell 5.875% 2028 Sukuk Bonds
• Indonesia to Sell 6.875% 2049 Sukuk Bonds
• Indonesia to Sell 6.75% 2043 Sukuk Bonds
• Indonesia to Sell 39-Day Sukuk Bills
• Indonesia to Sell 6.5% 2039 Sukuk Bonds
• Indonesia to Sell 165-Day Sukuk Bills
• Indonesia to Sell 270-Day Sukuk Bills
• MAS to Sell S$13.6 Bn 28-Day Bills
• MAS to Sell S$22 Bn 84-Day Bills
• Philippines to Sell 3.75% 2028 Bonds
• Philippines to Sell 6.375% 2050 Bonds
• Bank Indonesia to Sell 89-Day Bills
• Bank Indonesia to Sell 29-Day Bills
• Bank Indonesia to Sell 274-Day Bills
• Bank Indonesia to Sell 181-Day Bills
• Bank Indonesia to Sell 365-Day Bills 

source:  Bloomberg Finance LP / MNI 

The head of the RBA's Economic Analysis area, Michael Plumb, has given a speech this morning, titled - "Recent Developments in Inflation and the Economic Outlook." See the full speech at this link .

• It looks to be very in line with post RBA guidance after the recent rate rise earlier in Feb. Essentially, while the RBA sees some of the recent pick up in inflation as temporary, growth has been stronger than forecast and that some slowing in growth is likely needed to ensure inflation returns to target over the medium term.
• Plumb states: "In short, we assess that much of the pick-up in inflation was due to some sector-specific price pressures that we expect to dissipate in coming quarters. But overall growth in demand also looks to have been stronger than expected in the second half of last year, adding to existing economy-wide capacity pressures and therefore inflation. Consequently, our forecasts for inflation over the coming year have been revised higher. The February forecasts assume a higher path for the cash rate over the forecast period, consistent with financial market pricing. Alongside the unwinding of some temporary drivers of demand, this is expected to constrain growth in overall demand and bring the economy close to balance by the end of the forecast period – though this is subject to considerable uncertainty and, as always, there are risks around this central forecast."
• Plumb also notes on the new monthly CPI measure: "As we have noted, the RBA welcomes the introduction of a complete monthly CPI, as more frequent (and complete) data has material benefits for the timeliness of our read on inflation. The monthly CPI is Australia’s primary measure of headline inflation and the benchmark variable for the inflation target. But, as with anything new, it will take us some time to understand the properties and seasonal patterns of the data. While we learn about the monthly data, for a time we will continue to focus on the quarterly data for forecasting and assessing underlying inflationary pressures. In particular, as you saw in our February forecasts, we continue to forecast the quarterly trimmed mean measure of inflation."