July 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to trade sideways on Thursday, as steady commodity prices will most likely fail to boost sentiment dampened by disappointing inflation data.
Data showed Australian consumer prices were surprisingly lower last quarter and the core inflation rate stayed below target for a sixth straight quarter, thus lowering the likelihood of an interest rate hike any time soon. copper held two-year highs for a second day and iron ore futures climbed for a third session on Wednesday, while oil prices rose to near eight-week highs amidst hopes that the much steeper-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories might ease the persistent global crude glut. O/R MET/L IRONORE/
The local share price index futures YAPcm1 was flat at 5,717, a 59.6-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close.
The benchmark rose 0.9 percent to 5,776.60 on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was flat in early trade.