Some suggest the new Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock, instead of raising interest rates, will soon be lowering them. Yet monetary policy in Australia is not as tight as in most economies. That does not seem justified by recent Australian data.

Nearly 30 countries rated by Standard & Poor’s have short bond rates above long bond rates, including the USA, UK, Eurozone, Canada and New Zealand, which have short bonds 0.5 per cent or more higher than long bonds.