AUD/USD extends its gains for the third successive session, trading around 0.7040 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The pair appreciated after hotter-than-expected Australian inflation data, released on Wednesday, lifted the odds of a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate hike as early as next week. Australia’s CPI rose by 3.8% year-over-year (YoY) in December, following a 3.4% increase prior. Australia’s RBA Trimmed Mean inflation increased to 0.2% month-over-month (MoM) and 3.3% year-over-year (YoY). Australia’s export prices rose 3.2% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q4 2025, rebounding from a 0.9% fall in Q3 and marking the first increase in three quarters, as well as the strongest gain in a year.