Australian wages accelerated unexpectedly, by the largest amount in at least 11 years in the final quarter of 2008. Economists had forecast the data to come out 25% lower, at 0.9%. On a yearly basis, wages grew 4.3% from the end of 2007 after economists had expected them to rise only 3.8%. With hourly wage costs rising 1.2% in the last three months of 2008, inflation expectations may be on the rise. This would reduce the pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia to slash rates. The Australian Dollar jumped 13 pips in the minutes following the data release.
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