Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock said upside inflation risks identified by policymakers were materialising, citing the prolonged Middle East conflict, higher energy prices, the global artificial-intelligence boom and extreme weather. She warned that businesses were passing higher input costs to consumers and that a tight labour market could make inflation more persistent. Australian stocks rose 14 points, or 0.2%, to 8,747 in early Friday trading, extending a three-session advance as easing oil prices and softer global bond yields supported sentiment; gold miners led, with Northern Star Resources up 2.7% and Evolution Mining up 3.0%. Australia’s 10-year government bond yield fell below 5.3%, retreating from highs last seen in mid-2011. The RBA held its 4.35% cash rate for a second consecutive meeting in August and will assess whether existing tightening is sufficient to return inflation to its 2%-3% target at its September 28-29 meeting. Market pricing varied across the reported snapshots, from a 93% chance of a fourth increase this year to an approximately 87% chance of a first increase on September 29 and expectations for at least two further increases by February. UBS expects two additional 25-basis-point increases to 4.85% and forecasts headline inflation could reach 3.8% year on year in the third quarter, up from 3.5% in July.