Retail wars add to Australia's worries over weak inflation, soft demand

Sydney

A FIERCE price war among retailers is threatening to keep a lid on improving inflation in Australia, compounding the problems of policymakers struggling to support still-weak domestic demand.

An uptick in consumer inflation has lowered the chance of another rate cut this year, but competition from global retailers such as Amazon.com Inc is set to keep prices under pressure - good news for shoppers but worrying for the central bank.