The Australian Bureau of Statistics will on Wednesday release consumer price index figures for the December quarter from 2025.
The Reserve Bank monetary policy board meeting will hand down the first interest rate decision for the year on February 3.
Leading economist Justin Smirk anticipates the central bank will use the December quarter results to guide its decision.
The RBA is projecting a .5 per cent rise in the quarter, a slight downgrade from its earlier estimate.
Offsetting inflation over the time frame is a 4.7 per cent fall in electricity prices despite "strong" increases in November and December, according to a written report filed by Mr Smirk for Westpac.
Westpac is forecasting the monthly trimmed mean - an alternate measure used to reduce the impact of temporary price changes - will continue easing to 3.1 per cent for January.
"Inflation picked up in the September quarter but the key drivers were not domestic demand or labour market pressures," Mr Smirk said.
"Supply‑related factors, including disruptions affecting coffee, lamb and goat, and beef and veal, as well as strong export demand, have also contributed to price pressures, though both effects have begun to moderate, easing inflationary momentum."
The cash rate sits at 3.6 per cent where it has remained since the central bank last delivered a rate cut in August.
NAB is estimating two 0.25 percentage point rises in February and May, while the CBA is projecting one rate hike in February.
Westpac and ANZ are forecasting rates to remain on hold but note risks for a potential hike.
A target between 2 and 3 per cent is pursued by the RBA, which uses ABS data to track progress.
RBA governor Michele Bullock has previously said the incoming data would be watched to decide if inflation is continuing to persist.
"If inflation ... looks like it is not coming back down towards the target ... the board might have to consider whether or not it's appropriate to keep interest rates where they are or in fact at some point raise them," she said.
Investors on Wall Street have meanwhile been subjected to a zigzag week punctuated by threats and pullbacks that finished with a quiet and tentative close.
The S&P 500 was basically flat on Friday, edging up less than 0.1 per cent but still notching a second straight week with a modest loss.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 285 points, or 0.6 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 per cent.
Australian share futures climbed 12 points, or 0.13 per cent, against a 48-point loss for the week, to 7,620.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 11.4 points on Friday, up 0.13 per cent to 8,860.1, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 17.4 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 9,189.9.
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