Mark your calendars: Reserve Bank rate setting dates for 2024 released

In the first concrete change to its operations following the government-commissioned review earlier this year, the RBA has released its calendar of meetings for next year.

In keeping with the review's recommendation for fewer and longer interest rate setting meetings, each meeting will be spread over two days, with the outcome announced at 2.30pm on the second day, followed an hour later by a media conference conducted by incoming governor Michele Bullock.

The dates of the meetings are: February 5 to 6, March 18 to 19, May 6 to 7, June 17 to 18, August 5 to 6, September 23 to 24, November 4 to 5 and December 9 to 10.

The announcement has come little more than a week after Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that Ms Bullock, currently deputy governor, will succeed Philip Lowe as governor in September.

Among her tasks, Ms Bullock will oversee the implementation of the reforms recommended by the review, including not only changes to the structure and operation of the central bank board but strengthening its governance and culture.

The release of the 2024 meeting calendar has come amid signs that consumers are becoming slightly more hopeful about the outlook for inflation.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating climbed 2.6 points to 75.2 points last week, its strongest reading since early June, as households - particularly renters - became more optimistic about their finances and economic conditions.

ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said the mood of tenants may have brightened because of increasing speculation the rate of rent increases will slow as interest rates near their peak.

But despite the small improvement, Ms Timbrell said the sentiment index remained stuck below 80 points, where it has languished for 21 weeks - which is one week shy of the record reached during the early 1990s recession.

Opinion appears split over whether the Reserve Bank of Australia board will tighten monetary policy further when it meets next Tuesday.

Markets put the odds of an official cash rate hike to 4.35 per cent at less than 50 per cent, with a lot hanging on the June quarter consumer price index reading.

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Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk forecasts the Australian Bureau of Statistics will report that headline inflation grew by 6.3 per cent in the three months to June, down from 7 per cent the previous quarter but still well above the central bank's 2 to 3 per cent target band.

Mr Smirk said much of the likely decline will be in housing cost, where rising rents were more than offset by lower electricity bills in the quarter.

In spite of the expected moderation in inflation, Westpac chief economist Bill Evans warned against complacency and said the August 1 rates decision would be finely balanced.

Ms Timbrell thinks headline inflation will slow to 6.2 per cent, which she said would be enough to convince the RBA to hold the cash rate steady at 4.1 per cent.

Commonwealth Bank economists, however, expect a rate hike even though they expect inflation to have increased by just 6.1 per cent.

CBA economist Stephen Wu said that in addition to the June quarter inflation figure and the latest employment data showing the jobless rate remained anchored at a low 3.5 per cent in June, the RBA board will also receive updated economic forecasts from central bank staff.

"Our base case remains that the flow of data heading into the August board meeting and the updated set of staff forecasts will not be enough to dissuade the RBA from increasing the cash rate," Mr Wu said.