Gold rises through US$4,000/oz as fears grow there’ll be a long US Government shutdown. Australia’s labour market continues to ease, and a weak business survey in New Zealand means the Reserve Bank could cut 50 basis points today.
In our Deep-Dive interview, ANZ Head of Asia Research Khoon Goh looks at Singapore’s economic momentum, including how it is benefiting from a surge in AI-related investment.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
US stocks fell overnight, bond yields and gold rose 0.8% to US$4,009/oz as unease grows over the ongoing US Government shutdown. ANZ Head of G3 Economics Brian Martin says there’s little immediate prospect it will be resolved.
ANZ Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence dropped 1.2 points last week to 85.5. ANZ Economist Sophia Angala says that came after the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates on hold and warned about inflation.
Signs of easing in Australia’s labour market, as ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads in September experienced their largest monthly fall since February last year. ANZ Economist Aaron Luk says the 3.3% drop is from elevated levels.
A dovish pivot by New Zealand’s Reserve Bank in August did little to support business confidence in the third quarter, according to NZIER’s quarterly survey. ANZ Senior Economist Miles Workman notes 96% of responses came in before New Zealand’s weak Q2 GDP data, and sentiment still fell.
That weak business survey followed weak Q2 GDP, and was the last data before the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s rate decision later today. ANZ New Zealand Chief Economist Sharon Zollner is expecting a 25 basis point cut with guidance to further easing, but says 50 basis points wouldn’t be a surprise.
Cheers,
Bernard.
PS: Catch you tomorrow with analysis of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision later today.
