Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: U.S. Inflation Data in -2-

Australia will publish its May consumer-price data on Wednesday.

Economists expect a 0.1% monthly decline in the headline consumer price index, but the majority of attention will be on the extent to which elevated oil prices are affecting underlying inflation.

ANZ's economists forecast a 0.3% monthly rise in trimmed mean inflation as businesses pass on higher input costs, lifting annual underlying inflation to 3.5%. However, they acknowledge that risks are skewed to the upside, with food, housing and alcohol prices all expected to have risen.

The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates three times this year in an effort to tame underlying inflation, but paused this month to judge whether it needs to do more.

Australian jobs data for May will be released Thursday, another key piece of the puzzle for the RBA as it mulls its next move.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in April from 4.3% a month earlier, but RBA Governor Michele Bullock said at the June meeting that the central bank believed that some of the increase simply reflected the fact it was taking people longer to find work.

Bringing down prices remained the RBA's key focus, Bullock said.

Thailand

The Bank of Thailand is widely expected to hold rates steady at its upcoming monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. Thailand's May inflation came within the central bank's target range, with the print expected to further support leaving rates unchanged, said ANZ Research's Kausani Basak.

ANZ noted inflationary pressures may persist as oil prices could stay elevated even after the U.S. and Iran finalize a peace deal, as supplies are expected to be gradually restored.

"This implies inflation is likely to breach the upper bound of the target range, which would likely necessitate policy action to anchor inflation expectations," ANZ said.

The central bank would ultimately need to act later in the year to prevent higher inflation expectations from becoming entrenched, ANZ said, despite growth momentum staying weak.

Singapore

Singapore's headline CPI is expected to have picked up in May, after a softer April print, ING economists said. This would mainly reflect higher food prices and the lagged pass-through of prior fuel price increases, they added.

Core inflation should rise as well, highlighting robust underlying demand conditions amid strong economic growth, ING said.

Any references to days are in local times.

Write to Jessica Fleetham at jessica.fleetham@wsj.com and Jihye Lee at jihye.lee@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2026 09:17 ET (13:17 GMT)