Bond traders expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver three back-to-back interest rate cuts this year amid an escalating trade war that has sent the dollar plunging to its lowest level since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Money markets are now fully priced for a quarter-point easing at each of the RBA’s next three policy meetings starting in May, with more to follow next year, and ascribe a 40 per cent chance that next month’s move could even be a jumbo 50 basis point cut.