Asia Economics Update Australia's fiscal consolidation remains on track The latest budget projections published today confirm that Australia’s fiscal position is exceptionally strong when compared to other high-income economies. The overall budget will move back into... 9th November 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's monetary tightening has a long way to go The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) unexpectedly hiked its cash rate by 25bp to 4.75% today. While the exact timing was a surprise, the resumption of monetary tightening was only a matter of when, not... 2nd November 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's cash rate still likely to move up soon Yesterday’s Q3 consumer price data from Australia were softer than the Reserve Bank (RBA) and consensus had expected. Inflation pressures are still likely to rise over the long run but the RBA would... 28th October 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update What lies ahead for the Aussie dollar? The Australian dollar is close to hitting parity against the US dollar, a level last reached in mid-1982. Interest rate differentials will probably remain the main driver of where the exchange rate... 12th October 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's monetary policy tightening to resume soon The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) unexpectedly held its cash rate at 4.5% today. Nonetheless, the RBA did state that rate hikes are likely if the economy develops in line with its main-case... 5th October 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia's industrial slowdown to level out soon Manufacturing PMIs for emerging Asia and Australia declined further in September. Factory output across the region will continue to adjust as the global upswing stays on a weak track. Nevertheless... 1st October 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Australia's cash rate set to rise in October Commentary from the Reserve Bank (RBA) over recent days makes it clear that Australia’s cash rate will move up again soon. Accordingly, we have brought forward our forecast and now expect a 25bp hike... 27th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Further rate hikes still look close in Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at 4.5% today, as expected. Nevertheless, the local economic upswing remains strong, at a time when there is little spare capacity. Accordingly... 7th September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia's manufacturing boom is easing to a pace that can last The manufacturing PMIs declined in August. The global upswing is shifting to a slower pace but we expect that the industrial sector expansion in Asia will stabilise at trend rather than collapse. 3rd September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's economy will continue to outperform Australia’s GDP growth accelerated in Q2 and was led by exports and household spending. The economic outlook remains bright, with the mining boom set to sustain above-trend growth in 2010-11. The... 1st September 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia, not the politics, will drive Australia's outlook The hung parliament outcome of Australia’s weekend election will inevitably hit local markets for a time but the long-run impact should be small. The main political parties have similar fiscal... 23rd August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's monetary tightening is not over The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at 4.5% today, as was universally anticipated. We expect the mining boom to bring above-trend GDP growth over the next few years and there is... 3rd August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Australia’s cash rate still likely to rise later this year The Reserve Bank (RBA) meets on Tuesday and is almost certain to keep its policy rate on hold at 4.5%, given that Q2 consumer price data were softer than expected. Nonetheless, the mining boom will... 2nd August 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia goes to the polls early It was announced over the weekend that Australia will hold Federal elections on 21st August. The main campaign issues will be the mining tax, climate change policy, and the stance toward asylum... 19th July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's monetary tightening has further to go The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its cash rate at 4.50% today, as expected. The external risks have increased but the RBA is still upbeat about the local outlook. GDP growth is forecast to... 6th July 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia outlook strong despite the leadership upheaval International investors should not be concerned by the change of prime minister even though, by Australian standards, the events of this week have been unprecedented. Data on population trends, which... 25th June 2010 · 1 min read