Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Labour Market (Apr.) Following outright falls in employment in February and March, the pace of job creation returned to a more normal rate in April. But even if this pace is sustained, we expect wage growth to remain... 17th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Wage Price Index (Q1) & Consumer Confidence (May) With wage growth stuck in the mud at 2.1% in the first quarter and likely to stay there or thereabouts for a while yet, the prospect of an interest rate rise next year has diminished further. It also... 16th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Income tax cuts not a game changer for consumption The income tax cuts announced in this week’s 2018/19 Federal Budget are not enough to prevent consumption growth in Australia from slowing this year, especially given taxpayers won’t see the bulk of... 11th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Focus Budget response: Asking too much of the economy While the good performance of the economy has allowed Treasurer Scott Morrison to cut income taxes and project a return to a budget surplus one year ahead of schedule in the last Budget before next... 8th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Retail Sales (Mar.) The sharper than anticipated easing in real retail sales growth in the first quarter points to a notable slowdown in real consumption growth last quarter. Moreover, the stagnation in nominal retail... 8th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Budget preview: Electioneering outdoes fiscal restraint While the income tax cuts that the Australian Treasurer is planning to announce in Tuesday’s Federal Budget will provide a small boost to the economy over the next couple of years, we doubt they will... 4th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA still ruling out a near-term rate hike The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Statement on Monetary Policy provided a clearer sign that the RBA has moved on from wondering if interest rates need to rise to considering when they will rise. But the... 4th May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia International Trade & Building Approvals (Mar.) While most of the other major economies have slowed in the first quarter, March’s international trade and building approvals figures suggest that the Australian economy strengthened markedly. 3rd May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Inflation outlook remains subdued Inflationary pressures picked up in the first quarter in Australia, with underlying inflation rising to the bottom of the RBA’s 2-3% target for the first time in two years. In contrast, core inflation... 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update What next for the Aussie and kiwi dollars? The recent weakening in the Australian and New Zealand dollars probably has a bit further to go and the big risks still lie on the downside. That said, a shift in interest rate differentials next year... 2nd May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA continues to signal only “gradual” improvement The Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates at 1.5% for the 19th meeting in a row today and continued to signal that a near-term rate hike is unlikely. Further ahead, with GDP growth likely to... 1st May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia CoreLogic House Prices (Apr.) House price inflation fell below zero in April for the first time since 2012 and with demand probably only going to be more constrained by lending conditions, we suspect that it will fall further into... 1st May 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economic Outlook Struggling to reach potential A weakening housing market and the high level of household debt will probably prevent GDP growth in Australia from accelerating above 2.5% in the coming years, while the end of the migration boom may... 30th April 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly APRA, the Royal Commission and housing We suspect that a tightening in lending standards as a result of the Royal Commission into banking misconduct will more than offset any further relaxation in APRA’s lending restrictions to leave... 27th April 2018 · 1 min read
RBA Watch Growing less optimistic Despite underlying inflation coming in slightly stronger than the Reserve Bank of Australia expected in the first quarter, the RBA will almost certainly leave interest rates at 1.5% at its next policy... 24th April 2018 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Consumer Prices (Q1) Even though in the first quarter underlying inflation essentially rose back within the RBA’s 2-3% target range for the first time in two years, we doubt this means that the RBA will raise interest... 24th April 2018 · 1 min read
