Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Consumer Prices (Feb. 2026) The mild pullback in headline inflation in February won’t allay the RBA’s concerns about upside risks to the inflation outlook. We still think there’s a strong case for continued policy tightening. 25th March 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Labour Market (Feb. 26) With inflation set to approach 5%, the renewed rise in the unemployment in February won’t prevent the RBA from hiking rates further. 19th March 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response New Zealand GDP (Q4 2025) With the economy still operating with substantial excess capacity, we think the RBNZ will leave rates on hold for several months to come. However, there is a high degree of uncertainty around the... 18th March 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Reserve Bank of Australia Meeting (March 2026) Amid concerns that the ongoing energy price spike will adversely affect the inflation outlook, the RBA raised rates by 25bp at its meeting today. However, the decision was made by the narrowest of... 17th March 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Monthly Household Spending Indicator (Jan. 26) The tepid rise in consumer spending lessens the urgency for the RBA to hike rates at its upcoming meeting in mid-March. Even so, the Bank has more work to do in order to close the positive output gap... 5th March 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia GDP (Q4 2025) Although the underlying details were a mixed bag, we suspect the RBA will still be concerned that growth is running above potential in Australia. 4th March 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Consumer Prices (January 2026) Trimmed mean inflation climbed to a fresh high in January, consistent with our view that the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep tightening monetary policy. 25th February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Labour Market (Jan. 26) With the January labour force survey confirming that the labour market is tightening rather than loosening as the RBA had anticipated, the Bank has more work to do. 19th February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response RBNZ Meeting (Feb. 2026) Although the RBNZ remains cautious about the near-term outlook, it seems open to normalising policy settings before long. 18th February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Wage Price Index (Q4 2025) Although the pickup in wage growth last quarter was driven in part by one-off factors, a look under the hood suggests that wage pressures will be slow to recede over the year ahead. Insofar as that... 18th February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Monthly Household Spending Indicator (Dec. 25) Although Australian households pared back spending at the end of last year, that doesn't take away from the bigger picture that the economy is running too hot for the RBA's liking. Accordingly, we... 9th February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response New Zealand Labour Market (Q4 2025) The modest rise in New Zealand’s jobless rate in Q4 masks the fact that underlying labour market conditions have started to improve. That said, we still think policy tightening won’t be on the Bank’s... 3rd February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Reserve Bank of Australia Meeting (Feb. 2026) The RBA continued to sound concerned about rising capacity pressures when it lifted its cash rate by 25bp today. There is a growing risk that rates will need to be taken above the 4.10% peak we have... 3rd February 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Consumer Prices (Q4 2025) The sharper-than-expected rise in underlying inflation makes it all but certain that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates at its meeting next week. 28th January 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q4) Although headline inflation picked up further in Q4, underlying inflation remains well behaved. That being the case, we still think the RBNZ will keep rates on hold for a prolonged period, whereas... 22nd January 2026 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Australia Labour Market (Dec. 2025) Given the renewed tightening in the labour market in December, the Reserve Bank of Australia is all but certain to pull the trigger on a rate hike at its meeting next month. 22nd January 2026 · 2 mins read
