Filtered by Subscriptions: Australia & New Zealand Economics Use setting Australia & New Zealand Economics
Black Friday may result in further rise in sales volumes in Q4 While retail sales values fell in October, a renewed boost from Black Friday in November may yet result in a second consecutive rise in sales volumes across Q4. The 0.2% m/m fall in sales …
28th November 2023
Surveys point to renewed slowdown in inflation Following a rather hawkish speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Michele Bullock, the financial markets now price in a 60% chance of another 25bp rate hike at the Bank’s February’s meeting, up from 40% before …
24th November 2023
While subdued capital spending has contributed to the slump in productivity, the recent plunge in the capital/labour ratio can only partly be explained by the surge in net migration. It is now a well-documented fact that Australia’s labour productivity …
23rd November 2023
Recession still looking likely and labour market weakening as expected Bank will probably signal that inflation will return to 2% target earlier than thought Quicker disinflation opens the door to rate cuts in the second half of next year The labour …
22nd November 2023
We believe that central banks in both Australia and New Zealand are done tightening policy. However, given that inflation is far from tamed in either country, policymakers are unlikely to drop their hawkish bias just yet. Although activity has proven …
17th November 2023
Spare capacity is opening up The ABS published a flurry of data this week, which prima facie suggest the labour market is still running red hot. Nevertheless, we remain confident in our decision to call time on the RBA’s tightening cycle . That’s largely …
During the past decade, the global economy has transitioned out of an era in which globalisation was the key driver of economic and financial relationships into one shaped by geopolitics. Previously, most governments had believed that closer economic …
16th November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The rise in unemployment has further to run Although jobs growth gained momentum in October, a renewed uptick in the unemployment rate should ensure that the RBA doesn’t feel the …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication . Wage growth has likely peaked Notwithstanding the acceleration in wage growth last quarter, we doubt that the Reserve Bank of Australia will tighten policy any further. The 1.3% …
15th November 2023
One and done for the RBA The main event this week was the RBA delivering a widely-anticipated 25bp rate hike at its meeting on Tuesday. Our assessment is that the increase in the cash rate is essentially something of an insurance policy, aimed at ensuring …
10th November 2023
As had been widely expected, the RBA handed down a 25bp rate hike at its meeting today. With the cash rate now at 4.35%, we believe the Bank’s tightening cycle is over. If we’re right that the Australian economy will soon take a turn for the worse, rate …
7th November 2023
RBA’s next move will be down With today’s widely anticipated rate rise now behind us, we believe the RBA’s tightening cycle is at an end. The RBA’s decision to lift its cash rate by 25bp at today’s meeting came as a surprise to few. Indeed, 35 out of 39 …
Too soon to signal the all-clear Data released this week showed that the Australian consumer isn’t on the skids just yet. Indeed, with retail turnover having surged in September, sales values rose by a solid 0.8% q/q in Q3, their strongest quarterly …
3rd November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Drag from net trade will be offset by boost from stockbuilding The slump in the trade balance in September increases the risk that the Australian economy entered a recession in …
2nd November 2023
House price rally will slow in earnest With house prices now at a record high and affordability constraints becoming increasingly binding, Australia’s housing rebound will soon run out of steam. In seasonally-adjusted terms, house prices across …
1st November 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBNZ to hold the line as labour market continues to slacken With the balance of demand and supply in the labour market showing further improvement, we’re more convinced than ever …
31st October 2023
RBA will hike by 25bp next week as inflation and labour market continue to run hot But there will be a high bar for additional tightening further down the road As the economy takes a turn for the worse, rate cuts still likely in Q2 2024 With inflation …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Surge in retail sales bolsters case for policy tightening With Australia’s retail recession likely having ended last quarter, it’s all but certain that the Reserve Bank of …
30th October 2023
RBA has more work to do Most of the data published this week highlight the imperative for the RBA tighten policy. To start with, Wednesday’s CPI release showed that Australia’s inflation problem is far from over. In fact, there are two pieces of …
27th October 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBA to hike again as inflation surprises on the upside With price pressures being slower to abate than the RBA had anticipated, we think the Bank will deliver one final 25bp …
25th October 2023
One more hike for the road Labour market data published yesterday showed that Australia's unemployment rate fell anew, from 3.7% to 3.6% in September, due largely to a pullback in workforce participation. As we explained in this Update , it increasingly …
20th October 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication Fall in joblessness complicates picture for the RBA The September data suggest that the labour market could take longer to cool than the RBA currently expects. Accordingly, we …
19th October 2023
RBA will probably hike rates in November The minutes of the RBA’s October meeting support our view that the Bank will deliver a final 25bp rate hike at its November meeting. While the Bank decided to keep rates unchanged at that meeting, it kept …
17th October 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBNZ to remain on hold as inflation continues to soften With price pressures on track to moderate further, we think that Reserve Bank of New Zealand won’t lift rates any higher. …
16th October 2023
There are growing indications that household finances are coming under pressure as mortgagors struggle with rising debt-servicing costs. Although households benefit from substantial liquidity buffers, we suspect they won’t be rushing to run those down to …
What to expect from a change of guard The headlines this week have largely been dominated by the last leg of campaigning ahead of New Zealand’s general election on October 14 th . The latest opinion polling suggests that five parties are likely to cross …
13th October 2023
Most of the recent surge in net migration has been driven by the increased arrival of foreign students, who generally spend less, work fewer hours and demand less housing than the average Australian. On balance though, the surge in net migration probably …
12th October 2023
Central banks in both Australia and New Zealand are likely to retain their hawkish bias in the near term, given that inflation is far from tamed in either country. While we think the RBNZ's tightening cycle is over, we expect RBA to hand down one final …
10th October 2023
One more hike for good measure On Tuesday new RBA Governor Michele Bullock began her tenure not with a bang but with a whimper, by leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.10%. What’s more, the statement accompanying the policy decision gave few indications …
6th October 2023
Australian economy braces for weaker growth Data released today reaffirm our view that the Australian economy is on shaky ground. To start with, trade data suggest that net exports will have become a drag on GDP growth in Q3. The trade surplus widened …
5th October 2023
The sell-off in bond markets has taken a breather today, helped in part by softer data on the US labour market. However, the scale of the moves over the past week has invoked comparisons to previous financial crises that have been caused by sharp moves in …
4th October 2023
With its assessment of the balance of risks broadly unchanged, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand left rates on hold at its meeting today. Although the Bank will likely retain its tightening bias, we continue to believe that the official cash rate is at its …
RBNZ’s next move will be down Although the RBNZ will retain its tightening bias, we believe that the official cash rate is at its cyclical peak. All 27 of the analysts polled by Reuters, including ourselves, had expected the Bank to leave the OCR …
While new RBA Governor Michelle Bullock didn’t spring any surprises at her first interest rate decision today, we think that the Bank will hike interest rates to a peak of 4.35% at its next meeting in November . However, we expect the RBA to pivot towards …
3rd October 2023
RBA will deliver final rate hike next month While new RBA Governor Michelle Bullock didn’t spring any surprises at her first monetary policy decision today, we think that the Bank will hike interest rates to a peak of 4.35% at its next meeting in …
House price gains will slow further over coming months The housing rebound will continue to lose momentum over coming months as affordability is increasingly stretched, but policy easing by the RBA should provide a renewed boost to prices next year. …
2nd October 2023
Economic data flash mixed signals The big news out of Australia this week was the strong rise in consumer prices in August. Moreover, with underlying price pressures showing few signs of relenting, we’ve revised up our forecast for the RBA’s terminal cash …
29th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. RBA will hike despite slower retail sales growth Retail sales lost some momentum in August. However, with sales volumes still running above their pre-pandemic trend, that …
28th September 2023
Activity is holding up better than expected, while disinflation is stalling Another 25bp rate hike now seems more likely than not Policy easing pushed back to mid-2024 Stronger-than-expected GDP and inflation data should cement the case for the RBA to …
27th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Resurgent price pressures raise risk of tighter policy With Australia’s disinflationary process stalling, there’s a growing risk that the Reserve Bank of Australia will resume …
RBNZ to reassert its tightening bias as activity surprises on the upside Given the noise in the recent data, we don’t expect further rate hikes However, policy will remain restrictive for longer, with rate cuts only in Q3 2024 Although economic activity …
26th September 2023
Overview – Both economies have dodged a recession so far, but we still consider it more likely than not that output will shrink across the second half of the year. With inflation softening and labour markets loosening, both central banks are done hiking …
22nd September 2023
Second-round effects set to be small The minutes of the RBA’s September meeting revealed that the Bank kept discussing another 25bp rate hike. One argument in favour was that the recent rise in petrol prices could make the process of returning to target …
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Strong pickup in growth puts rate hikes back on the table The unexpectedly strong rebound in activity last quarter means that the RBNZ may well judge it has more work to do. All …
21st September 2023
RBA’s pause to continue Although the RBA won’t be dropping its guard in the fight against inflation anytime soon, we still believe its tightening cycle is at an end. The minutes of the RBA’s September meeting showed that the Board did once again discuss …
19th September 2023
Wage growth will remain contained Data published by the Fair Work Commission on Monday showed that average annualised wage increases under new enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) soared to 4.4% in the two weeks leading up to August 11 th . That meant …
15th September 2023
Although central banks in both Australia and New Zealand are unlikely to drop their hawkish bias anytime soon, we suspect that their tightening cycles are now over. The RBNZ has already succeeded in sending New Zealand into a recession, which is likely to …
14th September 2023
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication Firm rebound in employment won't move the needle for the RBA Although job creation rose at a breakneck pace last month, it was matched by an equally forceful expansion of the …
Consumption set to slow further The 0.4% q/q rise in Q2 GDP was a touch stronger than the RBA’s August estimate of 0.2%, but the more important question is what the figures mean for the outlook for the economy over the coming quarters. On past form, the …
8th September 2023
Net trade set to become a drag on Q3 GDP growth Following the sizeable 0.8%-pts boost to GDP growth in Q2, the July trade figures suggest that net exports will provide a drag in the third quarter. The trade surplus fell from a downward-revised $10.3bn in …
7th September 2023
