Asia-Pacific economic calendar: RBA's Bullock in focus on quiet Tuesday

The session ahead is thin on data and scheduled events.

Japanese markets are closed again Tuesday for a public holiday, following Monday's closure and preceding another one on Wednesday.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock will appear in a fireside chat hosted by CEDA in Sydney at 1:00pm AEST,

• 0300 GMT
• 2300 US Eastern time

with a media Q&A session. The event falls a week before the RBA's September 28-29 meeting, where markets broadly expect a 25-basis-point rate rise from the current 4.35% cash rate.

Investors will watch for any shift from the hawkish tone Bullock adopted before a parliamentary committee on Friday. She noted that the upside inflation risks flagged in August are now materialising, and posed the key question as whether existing tightening is sufficient to bring inflation back to target within a reasonable timeframe. She also stated there is broad agreement that the neutral rate has risen, that inflation risks are tilted to the upside, and that persistent shocks are difficult to ignore. Additionally, she pointed to sustained higher oil prices and to businesses showing greater willingness to pass on cost increases. The Australian dollar strengthened following her remarks.

Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser reinforced that the Board is fully dedicated to achieving the inflation target, while UBS now forecasts two additional rate hikes, bringing the cash rate to a terminal level of 4.85%. Following Friday's comments, markets estimated the likelihood of a September hike at roughly 70 to 75%.

The fireside format is usually less scripted than a formal speech, so queries on oil, cost pass-through, and the extent of needed rate increases could elicit further detail. Central bank speakers often use such events to reaffirm existing market pricing rather than to shift it, so a reiteration of Friday's language would likely keep a September rise firmly in contention. Australian labour force data due Thursday is the next key input ahead of the decision.