Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Higher energy inflation won’t prompt further rate hikes The recent jump in crude oil prices will lift headline inflation in Australia, but we doubt it will have much bearing on underlying inflation. Accordingly, we still think that the RBA's next move will... 22nd September 2023 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Australian labour market will cool further Data published by Australia's Fair Work Commission revealed that pay hikes under enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) soared to a new high in the first fortnight of August. However, the share of... 15th September 2023 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly We still expect Australia to enter a recession The economy held a bit better last quarter than most had anticipated. And with the bulk of the RBA’s rate hikes now passed through to mortgage rates and inflation cooling, the largest falls in real... 8th September 2023 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Industrial action looms, residential investment falls Earlier this week, unions at Chevron's Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants in Australia announced their intent to begin strike action from September 7th. Although the industrial dispute will have a... 31st August 2023 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Storm clouds gather over the economic outlook New Zealand’s retail sales fell for a third consecutive quarter in Q2, as households continued to tighten their belts. What’s more, the sharp drop in heavy traffic volumes in July suggests that goods... 25th August 2023 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly New Zealand’s economy remains in a rut Earlier this week, the RBNZ signalled that rates would need to remain at their current restrictive level until early-2025. However, we think the Bank will shift gears well before then, given the... 18th August 2023 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Australian households pinch pennies New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that real household spending well and truly fell of a cliff in Q2. Moreover, with consumer sentiment in the doldrums, private consumption is... 11th August 2023 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA unlikely to lift rates any higher With the Reserve Bank of Australia having left its cash rate unchanged for two consecutive meetings, we think its tightening cycle is at an end. Indeed, the RBA appears increasingly concerned that... 4th August 2023 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Australia confronts its rental crisis Although Q2 CPI data for Australia were softer than most had expected, rental inflation continued to accelerate. Moreover, leading indicators suggest that rental inflation likely won't peak before... 28th July 2023 · 8 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly New Zealand inflation will remain higher for longer The fall in New Zealand’s headline inflation rate in Q2 largely reflected base effects, with underlying price pressures remaining strong. Accordingly, we think inflation will return to the RBNZ’s... 21st July 2023 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will only deliver two more rate hikes Inflation seems to be overshooting the RBA’s forecasts and the recent acceleration in pay hikes in enterprise bargaining agreements will add to the Bank’s concerns that inflation expectations may... 14th July 2023 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Pay hikes in collective bargaining agreements soar Notwithstanding the RBA's decision to leave rates on hold on Tuesday, we still expect the Bank to deliver three more 25bp rate hikes before bringing its tightening cycle to an end. Indeed, the case... 7th July 2023 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA has more work to do as economy is holding up Although CPI data released this week showed a sharp slowdown in headline inflation, it’s clear that underlying price pressures remain strong. What’s more, yesterday’s retail sales data revealed an... 30th June 2023 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Job mobility eases, critical minerals policy disappoints The latest Labour Force Survey data show that labour mobility in Australia is coming off the boil. That should help contain wage pressures going forward, given that job switching typically results in... 23rd June 2023 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly No relief for Australian mortgagors All signs are that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is unlikely to revise its guidance for the minimum serviceability buffer banks must apply when assessing home loan applicants. As a... 16th June 2023 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Australian economy braces for more pain The RBA's hawkish turn has led us to revise up our forecast for the peak cash rate to 4.85%, from 4.35% previously. The resulting rise in mortgage rates means that housing affordability will soon... 9th June 2023 · 6 mins read
