Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - Fixed mortgages won’t protect the housing market New Zealand’s high share of fixed mortgage rates won’t insulate the housing market from RBNZ rate hikes. Indeed, we’re sticking to our view that house prices will fall this year and cause the RBNZ to... 23rd March 2022 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Budget to target inflation while reducing deficits The New Zealand government this week reduced fuel excise taxes by 25 cents per litre for three months. And Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has indicated the Australian Budget due on the 29 th... 18th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand GDP (Q4 2021) The rebound in GDP at the end of last year was larger than the RBNZ was anticipating, which should keep the Bank on its hiking track. And we expect the rebound to have continued in the current quarter... 16th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Inflation expectations already rising Rising energy prices are set to lift Australian inflation further above the RBA’s target in the months ahead. And while consumer confidence has soured in response to soaring inflation, the high... 11th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Broadening price pressures to prompt rate hikes RBA Governor Lowe noted in a recent speech that the Bank no longer has specific criteria for deciding whether inflation is sustainably in the target range. But he highlighted that along with the... 7th March 2022 · 11 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will tighten soon as economy overheats Australia’s strong rebound from the Delta lockdowns left output quite close to its pre-virus trend. And with consumption holding up during the recent Omicron wave, we think GDP will return to that... 4th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Ukraine crisis won’t prevent RBA from tightening The conflict in Ukraine is lifting commodity prices. That will boost inflation in Australia as oil and gas prices rise. And we estimate that a sharp rise in energy prices will actually boost Australia... 25th February 2022 · 8 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Hawkish RBNZ will eventually need to reverse course The RBNZ sounded hawkish when it lifted rates today suggesting the OCR will rise further than we had previously anticipated. But a more aggressive hiking cycle will be an even bigger headwind to the... 23rd February 2022 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Budget 2022 set to remain supportive Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy outlined this week that he thinks fiscal policy should remain loose until interest rates have been normalised to avoid exacerbating financial risks. Add in the... 18th February 2022 · 7 mins read
RBNZ Watch RBNZ hiking cycle has further to run The New Zealand economy remained hot at the end of last year. And while the Omicron outbreak may disrupt activity in Q1, we expect the impact to be short-lived. We therefore forecast the RBNZ to... 16th February 2022 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Border reopening won’t ease labour shortages much The full reopening of the border will prompt more Australians to make holidays overseas. The key point though is that it sends a powerful message that the worst of the pandemic is now behind us, which... 11th February 2022 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA hiking cycle to start as RBNZ’s ends The RBA is coming around to the view that rates will need to be hiked this year. And our forecast that inflation will continue to surprise the Bank in the months ahead is why we think it will start... 4th February 2022 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Labour Market (Q4 2021) The further decline in the unemployment rate to a record low of 3.2% will keep the RBNZ on its hiking cycle in the months ahead. But we suspect the unemployment rate will rise again before long. 2nd February 2022 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Inflationary surge prompting monetary tightening New Zealand’s inflation surged to a 30-year high of 5.9% in Q4. And while Australia’s 3.5% was much lower, it is well above the RBA’s 2-3% target band. Trimmed mean inflation is about one percentage... 28th January 2022 · 11 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA to hike rates in August The jump in consumer prices in Q4 reflected further strong gains in the usual suspects of petrol prices and costs of new dwelling purchases. But services inflation has picked up sharply as well. With... 28th January 2022 · 8 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q4 2021) The persistent rise in inflation to the highest levels in 30 years will be worrying the RBNZ. That’s why we expect the Bank to hike aggressively in the first half of this year. 26th January 2022 · 2 mins read
