The market expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates further, and the Australian dollar rose slightly

　　The Australian dollar was supported on Thursday by hawkish comments from the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), while government bonds fell as the market increased the likelihood of further interest rate hikes in Australia.

　　The Australian dollar rose 0.26% to $0.6558 after trading as high as $0.6569 overnight. The Australian dollar failed to break through resistance at $0.6590 as the greenback strengthened after U.S. jobless claims data and a survey of consumer inflation expectations suggested the Fed's inflation challenge may not be over.

　　'In response to the recent rapid rise in iron ore prices, companies are required to operate in accordance with the law,' the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement Thursday. No excessive speculation, no manipulation of the futures market. That has taken some of the shine off the Australian dollar.

　　Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Michele Bullock warned on Wednesday that inflation was increasingly being driven by domestic demand rather than temporary supply chain pressures, so a more "aggressive" response on interest rates was needed.

　　Mr Ord, chief investment officer at JB Were, said: "This does not sound like the voice of a central bank that has already finished raising rates... If you listen to her objectively, you might think that one more rate hike is not going to get the job done. Maybe we need more, like twice."

　　The markets have clearly responded to her hawkish tone, with swaps now implying a chance of another increase in benchmark rates to 4.6 percent in the New Year, up from 40 percent previously to over 60 percent now."