Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q2) The continued low level of both headline and core CPI inflation in New Zealand in the second quarter all-but guarantees that the RBNZ will cut interest rates to 3.00% at next week’s policy meeting... 16th July 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - Slowdown becoming more widespread While much of the weakness in GDP growth in New Zealand in Q1 was due to the temporary effect of the drought, more recent data suggest that the slowdown is spreading to other sectors. The risks to our... 14th July 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Will the lower dollar prevent further rate cuts? Since the recent sharp weakening in both the Australian and New Zealand dollars is being driven by the deteriorating economic outlook for each economy, the depreciating currencies are unlikely to... 10th July 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Wider Australian trade deficit not that bad for Q2 GDP Since most of the recent sharp widening in Australia’s trade deficit is because commodity prices have reduced export values rather than due to outright falls in export volumes, net trade probably... 3rd July 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Can the strength of Australia’s labour market last? The Australian labour market appears to be coping surprisingly well with the end of the mining boom. However, we suspect that the recent data overstate the strength of the labour market. Moreover, if... 26th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Consumption growth set to slow While consumption growth in Australia held up well in the first quarter, there is little chance that an increase in household spending will prevent the economy from slowing. Employment and wage growth... 25th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand GDP (Q1) The sharp slowdown in New Zealand's economy in the first quarter was partly down to the temporary impact of a drought on the agricultural sector, but there are a number of other factors that will keep... 18th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly What next for New Zealand interest rates and the dollar? The decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to cut rates to 3.25% leaves our prediction that rates will be 3.0% by the end of the year on track and has helped achieve one of our other... 12th June 2015 · 1 min read
Global Markets Update A selection of our key calls (advanced economies) This note summarises our key calls for the advanced economies and markets, emphasising where we differ from the consensus. Detailed projections (with specific numbers) are available in our regular... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - Rates may eventually fall below 3% While today's interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), to 3.25% from 3.50%, came a bit earlier than we expected, towards the start of the year we were one of the few analysts... 11th June 2015 · 1 min read
RBNZ Watch New Zealand - Preparing the ground for rate cuts We expect that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will use the policy meeting scheduled for Thursday 11 th June and the publication of the accompanying Monetary Policy Statement to further prepare... 4th June 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly The markets don’t care whether Australia is AAA or AA It is possible that at some point in the next couple of years, Australia will lose its AAA credit rating. While this would be a huge blow for whichever political party is in power at the time, it... 29th May 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - New mortgage restrictions raise rate cut chances The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) plan to tighten its macro-prudential polices in order to tame house price inflation in Auckland could be another sign that it is preparing the ground for a... 13th May 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly The RBA’s dilemma laid bare The Reserve Bank of Australia can’t have its cake and eat it. The only way to ensure that the Australian dollar weakens, which would support the real economy, is to reduce interest rates further, but... 1st May 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - RBNZ edging closer to cutting rates Although the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) once again left interest rates unchanged today, theshift from a neutral policy bias to an implicit loosening bias supports our view that interest rates... 30th April 2015 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q1) The petrol-related plunge in headline CPI inflation, to a 15-year low of 0.1% in the first quarter from 0.8% in the fourth quarter, will grab all the headlines, but it is the weakness of underlying... 20th April 2015 · 1 min read