Rising unemployment will be the cue for an easing of monetary policy, RBA governor Phillip Lowe made clear in a speech to the National Press Club yesterday.The Reserve Bank board "does not see a strong case" for a near-term change in the cash rate, Lowe made clear.In a preview of Friday's Statement on Monetary Policy Lowe upended 2018's stance of a rise in the case rate being more probable, were any change in the cash rate warranted."Looking forward, there are scenarios where the next move in the cash rate is up and other scenarios where it is down. "Over the past year, the next-move-is-up scenarios were more likely than the next-move-is-down scenarios. Today, the probabilities appear to be more evenly balanced."We will be monitoring developments in the labour market closely," Lowe said. "If Australians are finding jobs and their wages are rising more quickly, it is reasonable to expect that inflation will rise and that it will be appropriate to lift the cash rate at some point. "On the other hand, given the uncertainties, it is possible that the economy is softer than we expect, and that income and consumption growth disappoint. In the event of a sustained increased in the unemployment rate and a lack of further progress towards the inflation objective, lower interest rates might be appropriate at some point. We have the flexibility to do this if needed."