Global stocks fall after weak US manufacturing data raises fears about a deeper slowdown. The Australian dollar is down over 1%. Australian GDP may have grown a bit in Q2. South Korean inflation hits the central bank’s target.
In our bonus deep dive interview, ANZ Group Chief Economist Richard Yetsenga reviews Australia’s trade relationship with ASEAN from the AFR Asia summit.
5 things to know:
Global stocks fell after ongoing weakness in US manufacturing data raised fears of a deeper slowdown. Meanwhile, today in Australia, ANZ Senior Economist Catherine Birch is forecasting economic data for the April-June period will show growth of 0.1%, and annual growth of 0.8%. That’s a touch weaker than the RBA.
The two final pieces of the GDP data puzzle came out on Tuesday. Catherine says net exports were weaker than expected.
The other partial indicator was government spending and investment data, which was stronger than expected.
South Korea’s annual inflation dropped to 2% in August, from 2.6% in July and hitting the Bank of Korea’s target. ANZ Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and India Sanjay Mathur says the BoK might be able to cut in October.
We at 5-in-5 were at the ANZ-sponsored AFR Asia summit in Melbourne yesterday. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke about a growing pipeline of projects being developed in South East Asia through Export Finance Australia, particularly in energy transition and infrastructure.
Cheers
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with a review of Australia’s Q2 GDP and what it could mean for interest rates.
