Australian interest rates still likely to increase

SYDNEY: Australian interest rates are still likely to rise to help contain inflation amid a trade and mining boom, a top central banker said yesterday, flagging August as a possible window for a move.

The local dollar firmed and debt futures slipped after Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens used an upbeat speech on the economic outlook to remind markets that a “further tightening of monetary policy is likely to be required at some point.”