SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will wait for unemployment to nudge lower and inflation to hop into its 2 percent to 3 percent target range before considering raising interest rates, Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday.
"As things currently stand, we expect that progress to be steady, but to be only gradual," Lowe said before a parliamentary economics committee. "Given this assessment, the Reserve Bank board does not see a strong case for a near-term adjustment of monetary policy."
The unemployment rate is stuck around 5.5 percent despite a surge in jobs, while inflation has undershot the RBA's target for more than two years. (Reporting by Swati Pandey and Wayne Cole, editing by G Crosse)
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