Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBNZ’s independence not under threat While New Zealand’s Prime Minister has indicated a desire for more aggressive policy loosening by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the institutional framework limits the government’s ability to... 28th August 2025 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update How rising defence spending will impact Asia Defence spending across Asia is set to rise over the coming years, driven in part by increased pressure from the US for its allies to shoulder more of their own security costs. While the overall boost... 27th August 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Don’t blame the public sector for Australia's productivity malaise Even though direct government spending now accounts for the largest share of GDP on record, we aren’t convinced that this explains the prolonged weakness in productivity growth. 21st August 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBNZ will cut rates to 2.5% by year-end When the RBNZ slashed rates by 25bp today, it effectively endorsed our long-held forecast for a below-consensus terminal rate of 2.5%. However, with the Bank judging the balance of risks to the... 20th August 2025 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA will lower cash rate to 2.85% by mid-2026 The RBA endorsed market expectations of further easing when it lowered the cash today and we think the Bank will ultimately slash rates to 2.85%. 12th August 2025 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update NZD and AUD likely to struggle over the rest of the year The high-beta Antipodean currencies had been the worst victims of global trade tensions but have fared better since early April, relative to their G10 peers, as global risk appetite steadily improved... 7th August 2025 · 4 mins read
Global Economics Update New US tariff regime still not the end of the story President Trump’s latest flurry of tariffs implies that the US effective tariff rate will rise to about 18%, from 2.3% last year. That is a little higher than we assumed and so presents modest... 1st August 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Affordability will dampen Australia’s housing rebound Australia’s housing market gained traction in June, and leading indicators suggest the housing rebound has further to run. But with affordability set to remain extremely stretched despite the RBA’s... 1st August 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBNZ to cut further as property sector remains weak New Zealand’s housing market is still struggling to recover from its steep post-pandemic downturn. Although we still expect it to turn the corner in the coming months, the risk is that it will remain... 15th July 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA will resume easing cycle in August While the Reserve Bank of Australia’s today defied widespread expectations of a rate cut, we still expect the Bank to resume its easing cycle at its August meeting. And with GDP growth still sluggish... 8th July 2025 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Stretched affordability will limit housing rebound The fact that the RBA isn’t cutting interest rates during a housing downturn won’t limit the rebound in house prices, but the extremely stretched level of affordability will do so. Even though we... 3rd July 2025 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBNZ Watch: RBNZ on pause in July, but easing has further to run With activity having rebounded strongly in Q1 and headline inflation firming up, the RBNZ is likely to leave rates unchanged at 3.25% next week. However, we’re not convinced that the economy has... 2nd July 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia's housing rebound has further to run House prices rose the most since last year in June and with the RBA set to cut interest rates much further, the housing market will continue to gain momentum. However, affordability will remain quite... 1st July 2025 · 3 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Israel’s strikes on Iran: assessing the macro impact The overnight strikes by Israel on Iran mark a major escalation in the conflict in the region and, with the oil market tighter than it was a few months ago, the risks to oil prices look more balanced... 13th June 2025 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA will look past minimum wage increase While this year’s minimum wage hike will be only slightly smaller than last year’s, it is unlikely to prevent a further slowdown in wage growth over the coming quarters. That said, with capacity... 3rd June 2025 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia in store for a tepid housing rebound Australian house prices edged up a notch in May, and leading indicators suggest they will gather further momentum over the coming months. However, with debt-servicing costs set to remain onerous... 2nd June 2025 · 3 mins read
