Markets are on tenterhooks hours ahead of President Trump’s 8pm EST deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; Australia’s labour market loosens; The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hold rates today.
And then in our deep-dive interview, ANZ Economist Krystal Tan looks at how South Korea’s economy is standing up to the effects of the Middle East conflict.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
Markets this morning had all eyes on the looming 8pm EST deadline set by Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That’s 10am Sydney/Melbourne time. Overnight the US President issued further warnings about what would happen if the deadline was not met, while a report indicated Iran had pulled out of direct negotiations. In an ANZ Research webinar on the conflict held yesterday, ANZ Senior Commodities Strategist Daniel Hynes said the threat of attacks on Iranian energy assets had been keeping markets on edge ahead of the deadline.
Signs of some loosening in Australia’s labour market in March after it tightened in the first two months of the year, as ANZ-Indeed Job Ads fell 3.1%. ANZ Economist Aaron Luk says ANZ Research expects the unemployment rate to lift to 4.6% in early 2027 from 4.3% now.
Meanwhile, Australian household spending grew 0.3% in February, the same as in January. Aaron says the lift was driven by discretionary spending - although this was ahead of the Middle East conflict escalating.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hold rates today as it assesses the inflationary and activity impacts of the Middle East conflict. ANZ New Zealand Chief Economist Sharon Zollner says while there are no new forecasts, the record of meeting will be poured over for clues.
Sharon says it’s all about controlling inflation expectations at this stage for the RBNZ.
Cheers
Bernard.
PS: Catch you tomorrow with all the reaction to that RBNZ rate decision later today and the latest on the Middle East following the US deadline.
