Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will deliver another 50bp rate hike RBA Governor Lowe reiterated today that the Bank will slow the pace of tightening at some point. But his hawkish comments on the health of consumer spending and the labour market suggest that this... 16th September 2022 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will slow pace of tightening to 25bp next month Consumption has recovered faster than we had expected. However, income growth has disappointed and the savings rate is falling more sharply than we had thought. That leaves less scope for households... 9th September 2022 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Housing downturn starting to weigh on activity While the plunge in homebuilding last quarter reflected supply shortages more than weak demand, slumping home sales and house prices suggest that the downturn in dwellings investment has much further... 2nd September 2022 · 8 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Resilient activity points to aggressive RBA tightening While business surveys in other advanced economies point to shrinking activity, the are holding up much better in Australia. The resilience of Australia's consumer reflects the strongest rise in... 26th August 2022 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Wage growth will surpass 3% next quarter While there are some early signs that the recovery in employment is sputtering, we aren't convinced that the labour market has turned for the worse just yet. With labour shortages still severe and the... 19th August 2022 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA to slow pace of tightening from October The latest survey data suggest that inflation will continue to accelerate over coming months and we expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver another 50bp rate hike next month. But with food... 12th August 2022 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will press on with another 50bp hike next month The Reserve Bank of Australia has indicated that it will slow the pace of tightening over coming months as tighter policy is starting to weigh on activity. With growth softening rather than collapsing... 5th August 2022 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Economy to slow more sharply than Treasurer expects While we expect the economy hold up a bit better than the Treasurer in the near-term, aggressive policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia will exacerbate the ongoing housing downturn... 29th July 2022 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Inflation to surge despite falling commodity prices The recent fall in global food and crude oil prices means that the inflation outlook has become more nuanced. But with coal and wholesale gas prices at record highs, Australians will soon witness the... 22nd July 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will deliver 75bp rate hike next month With consumer spending resilient, the labour market tightening far faster than anyone had anticipated and inflation set to surge further in Q2, we now expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver a... 15th July 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Activity holding up this year but will weaken in 2023 The latest data show that consumer spending is defying downbeat sentiment and rising interest rates by continuing to strengthen. Indeed, we have been arguing for some time that strong financial... 8th July 2022 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Housing downturn to weigh on activity The housing downturn is now in full swing. While that hasn’t prevented a solid rise in consumption in Q2, we think falling wealth will be a drag on consumer spending next year. What’s more, our... 1st July 2022 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly More 50bp hikes coming We agree with RBA governor Phillip Lowe that market pricing for the Cash rate looks too aggressive. But we also think the consensus is still too dovish. After all, Governor Lowe is starting to grow... 24th June 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Inflationary pressures keep building The big minimum wage hike announced by the fair work commission this week will lead to higher wage growth over the coming year. Given the tightness in the labour market and rising cost pressures... 17th June 2022 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA could raise rates even faster than we anticipate We’ve long been arguing that the RBA will lift rates more sharply than most analysts anticipate and the RBA’s surprise 50bp rate hike this week is consistent with our view that rates will reach 3% by... 10th June 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Mining’s heydays are over Mining accounted for less than 10% of GDP last quarter for the first time since 2015 and with mining firms not responding to soaring commodity prices with higher investment, that decline has further... 3rd June 2022 · 5 mins read