Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Critical minerals deal holds promise for Australia The critical minerals agreement signed by Australia and the US will provide only a modest boost to activity in the near term. However, the deal highlights the opportunities that global fracturing... 24th October 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA to cut in November as labour market cools RBA officials have recently been downplaying the potential for further rate cuts. However, we believe their hawkish pivot won't last. Indeed, the surge in the jobless rate to a four-year high in... 17th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBNZ’s easing cycle will be over by year-end We were among the minority of analysts who correctly predicted that the RBNZ would slash its policy rate by 50bp this week and we still expect another 25bbp cut at its November meeting. However... 10th October 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly China’s iron ore extortion won’t succeed China’s strong reliance on Australian iron ore means that its recent ban of imports from one of Australia’s mining giants will at best result in minor concessions. The bigger picture though is that... 3rd October 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Data flashing mixed signals, New RBNZ governor With Australian inflation surprising to the upside in August, markets now expect the RBA to deliver just one more 25bp cut this cycle, rather than two. However, with business surveys showing output... 26th September 2025 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBNZ will cut further to revive the ailing economy With New Zealand’s real GDP having plunged last quarter, the output gap is now at its most negative level since the Global Financial Crisis. The excess capacity in the economy will exert downward... 19th September 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Springtime in the Antipodes New business surveys suggest that economic momentum in Australia will remain solid through the second half of the year. However, we would caution that these surveys have recently overstated the... 12th September 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Consumer revival to temper RBA rate-cut outlook The Australian economy bounced back strongly last quarter, buoyed by a sharp rise in consumer spending. With households' real incomes growing strongly and housing wealth increasing in tandem, we... 5th September 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Strong data out of Australia, Luxon’s faux pas There are tentative signs that the Australian economy may be starting to heat up. We learnt that underlying inflation accelerated anew in July, while a new ABS survey showed that firms are becoming... 29th August 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: RBNZ turns dovish, Australia discusses tax reform When the RBNZ cut rates by 25bp at its meeting this week, it acknowledged that it would need to lower the policy rate all the way to 2.5% this cycle – consistent with our longstanding forecast. And... 22nd August 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: Strong jobs market won’t keep RBA from easing further When the RBA delivered a 25bp cut this week, it signalled a willingness to lower rates below 3% for the first time this cycle. Although subsequently released labour market and wage data surprised... 15th August 2025 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: Productivity growth picking up in New Zealand While the Q2 labour force survey out of New Zealand showed that labour demand remains dismal, it's worth noting that firms have been squeezing more out of their existing employees. The resultant lift... 8th August 2025 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: CPI data signal green light for August rate cut Australian CPI data released this week will have gone a long way toward assuaging the RBA's concerns about lingering price pressures in the economy. And although retail sales picked up strongly in... 1st August 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: RBA’s gradualism poses upside risks to rates The minutes of the RBA's July meeting showed that the Board remains reluctant to declare victory in the war on inflation – a sentiment reiterated by Governor Bullock in a speech this week. We suspect... 25th July 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: Labour market not an obstacle to RBA rate cuts The strong uptick in Australia's unemployment rate in June may be overstating the actual degree of slack in the labour market. After all, the underutilisation rate remains historically low and... 18th July 2025 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly ANZ Weekly: RBA to drag out easing cycle as caution prevails The RBA’s decision to leave rates unchanged at its meeting this week came as a surprise to most. As it turns out, a majority of the Board preferred to wait for the full Q2 CPI data (due by end-July)... 11th July 2025 · 5 mins read
