The Iran War Forces the First Central Bank’s Hand: Daniel Moss

A who’s who of central banks meet this week and all will stress their commitment to price stability in the face of a huge oil-supply disruption. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hike shows that monetary authorities are combating a bigger foe than Iran — the pickup in inflation that fighting in the Middle East is likely to generate. But not all will follow suit.

Policymakers in Sydney are on a war footing, economically. That’s the message from Tuesday’s quarter-point hike in the RBA’s benchmark rate. While the step was anticipated by most economists, the outcome wasn’t guaranteed: The panel vote was ...