All eyes are on the second inauguration of Donald Trump and what he says about tariffs and migration. The US dollar is firm and may rise even more. China’s GDP growth beat forecasts, but was boosted by pre-loading of exports to America.
In our bonus deep dive interview, ANZ’s Head of Australian Economics Adam Boyton analyses the meaning of Donald Trump version 2.0 for Australia’s economy.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
The US dollar may have further to rise as Trump is inaugurated if the US economy keeps performing better than the rest, ANZ FX Strategist Felix Ryan says.
Felix says the US dollar strengthened after Trump introduced his first round of tariffs in 2018.
China reported stronger-than-expected Q4 GDP growth figures on Friday. ANZ’s Chief Economist for Greater China Raymond Yeung says it was mostly due to front-loading of exports before the inauguration of Trump and any new tariffs.
Raymond says China will need to boost consumption to keep growing GDP at an annual rate of 5% in 2025.
New Zealand manufacturing contracted for the 22nd consecutive month in December, but ANZ New Zealand Economist Henry Russell says the worst is over.
Cheers,
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with a deeper-dive interview with Raymond about China’s prospects in the Year of the Snake.
