The RBA’s rate hike meeting minutes indicate another move higher is not a foregone conclusion. And the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hold rates today, but all eyes are on its future rate track.
In the final part of our deep-dive interview on the Year of the Fire Horse, ANZ’s Chief Economist for Greater China Raymond Yeung talks about the outlook for interest rates, the Yuan and the property market.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate hike meeting this month indicated future increases are not a foregone conclusion, says ANZ Head of Australian Economics Adam Boyton. A slower activity backdrop and lower Q1 inflation could see it hold rates in May.
Adam says the minutes featured quite a focus on the Q4 inflation jump. He thinks the RBA is going to be pleasantly surprised on inflation when the first quarter data comes out in April.
Australian consumers are feeling softer than before the rate hike. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence index last week rose just 0.2 points after falling three-and-a-half after the RBA decision, says ANZ Economist Sophia Angala.
The focus today is on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s rate decision and forward projections. There was some good news on the inflation front yesterday as selected price indicators for January came in softer than expectations. ANZ Senior Economist Miles Workman says that may not move the dial for the RBNZ.
ANZ Head of FX Research Mahjabeen Zaman says there’s potential for some downside for the Kiwi dollar heading into the RBNZ meeting.
Cheers,
Bernard.
PS: Catch you tomorrow with all the reaction from the RBNZ’s rate decision later today.
