RBA fires the first hawkish shot. Others could follow

The RBA has fired the first hawkish shot, raising rates 25bp as inflation pressures rise — and oil is keeping markets on edge. WTI is above $95pb, Brent flirting with $100pb, amid tanker flows in the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. But upside pressures persist. The Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting today, while other major central banks are due to announce their verdict throughout the week, with markets already pricing in hawkish expectations. The market reaction will depend on how much of the hawkishness is already priced in. Meanwhile, at Nvidia’s GTC conference, CEO Jensen Huang predicts $1 trillion in AI chip revenue through 2027 and a shift toward agentic AI, and says Saas will become Aas – agentic AI as a service. Listen to find out more! Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020, and launched her own website ipekScope.com in 2025.