US GDP falls for the first time since 2022. US stocks slide 0.5% and oil prices fall 3.4%. Lower core inflation in Australia lends support to the RBA cutting in May, New Zealand business confidence slumps on the tariff shock, and the Bank of Thailand cuts.
In our bonus Deep Dive interview ANZ Economist Dhiraj Nim analyses foreign direct investment flows in Asia, with some interesting findings on outward investment flows.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
US GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.3% in Q1, its first fall since 2022 and worse than expected. But it was mostly about a last-minute surge of imports before the April tariff shock. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 3.4% to US$58.37/bbl. ANZ’s Head of G3 Economics Brian Martin says the weakness was deeper in the GDP data than just imports.
Australia’s headline annual inflation rate was steady at 2.4% in Q1, in line with ANZ Research’s forecast, says ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell.
Adelaide says the trimmed mean measure of annual inflation fell to 2.9% from 3.3% in the December quarter, which supports a rate cut on May the 20th by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Headline business confidence in New Zealand fell 9 points in April, following the US tariff announcements, according ANZ’s Business Outlook survey. ANZ New Zealand Chief Economist Sharon Zollner says responses worsened through April.
The Bank of Thailand cut its policy rate 25 basis points to 1.75% yesterday, its third cut since October last year. ANZ Economist Krystal Tan says the bank noted how US trade policy was altering the global growth landscape.
Cheers,
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with the Bank of Japan’s latest rate decision, and analysis of how South Korea’s exports fared during April.
