Oil prices are up sharply this morning on signs Israeli troops will advance into Gaza within hours. A flight to safer assets is strengthening the US$ vs the Aussie and Kiwi dollars, while the yen is weak at 149.59/$.
In our bonus deep-dive interview, ANZ Group’s Chief Economist Richard Yetsenga reviews the Fed’s recent comments, previews the week ahead and analyses changing investment flows in Asia.
5 things to know
Brent crude rose nearly US$5 a barrel to US$91.50 overnight on signs Israeli forces will advance into Gaza in the day ahead. The US dollar is strong on a flight to safer assets. The Aussie dollar is down at 62.94 USc at 5 am AEST and the Kiwi is at 58.85 USc. Both are down around half a cent from Friday.
Chinese inflation data on Friday was flat and weaker than expected. ANZ Economist for China Zhaopeng Xing cites weak consumer spending.
As expected, the conservative National Party beat the incumbent Labour Party in New Zealand’s general elections over the weekend. ANZ’s NZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner looks at the fiscal implications in the longer run.
Sharon says a recent bump in New Zealand house prices may have anticipated the change, given National plans to reintroduce advantageous tax rules for rental property investors. She says the bump may worry the RBNZ.
New Zealand’s manufacturing sector struggled again in September, says ANZ NZ Senior Economist Miles Workman.
Cheers
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with that deep-dive interview with Raymond Yeung I previewed on Friday. Had to shuffle it to tomorrow after a big weekend of news.
