CENTRAL – AUSTRALIA

Faltering dollar unlikely to sway Reserve Bank rates call

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Original article by Cameron Micallef
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-Jan-25

The Australian dollar fell sharply on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump signalled that a tariff of 25 per cent could be imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico from the start of February. However, AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver says the recent downturn in the value of the currency is unlikely to influence the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision in February. Oliver contends that quarterly inflation data to be released in late January will be the key factor that the central bank will take into account.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Academic and banker to join RBA policy board

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Dec-24

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government undertook a "very robust and very consultative" process to select the members of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s two new boards. Professor Renee Fry-McKibbin and former Bendigo Bank CEO Marnie Baker will join four of the RBA’s current external board members on the new interest-rate setting board, which will also include governor Michele Bullock, deputy governor Andrew Hauser and Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy. Current board members Carol Schwartz and Elana Rubin will join the RBA’s governance board.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN

Academic and banker to join RBA policy board

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Dec-24

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government undertook a "very robust and very consultative" process to select the members of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s two new boards. Professor Renee Fry-McKibbin and former Bendigo Bank CEO Marnie Baker will join four of the RBA’s current external board members on the new interest-rate setting board, which will also include governor Michele Bullock, deputy governor Andrew Hauser and Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy. Current board members Carol Schwartz and Elana Rubin will join the RBA’s governance board.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN

RBA lifts Labor hopes of rate cut

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Dec-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday had been widely expected. However, the RBA’s monetary policy statement has notably omitted a line which stated that the board is "not ruling anything in or out". RBA governor Michele Bullock has in turn noted that the latest wages and economic growth data has given the board some confidence that inflationary pressures are declining; however, she cautioned that the board is of the view that underlying price pressures are still too high. Bond traders have now priced in a 62 per cent chance of an official interest rate cut at the RBA’s next board meeting in February; a second rate cut has been widely tipped for April, with the federal election set to be held no later than mid-May.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

RBA getting it wrong on jobs

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Dec-24

The Reserve Bank convened for its final board meeting for 2024 on Monday, with ACTU secretary Sally McManus being joined by union members outside its Sydney headquarters as she called on the RBA to cut interest rates. Melbourne University economics professor Jeff Borland, who is considered Australia’s leading labor market expert, contends the Australian jobs market is not as strong as the RBA thinks, and that its true state does not justify the RBA keeping the cash rate at 4.35 per cent; the RBA will announce its interest rate decision on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Jobs rush likely to postpone rate cut

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Nov-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia has noted in the minutes of its board meeting for November that there are signs that the job market is beginning to tighten. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1 per cent in October, and RBA governor Michelle Bullock has previously indicated that the strength of the labour market is amongst the reasons why further interest rate increases could be on the agenda. HSBC’s chief economist Paul Bloxham agrees with the RBA’s assessment that the labour market may not weaken further, which is likely to rule out an interest rate cut in the near-term.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC

Resist your urge to splurge, ALP told

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Nov-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday had been widely expected. The RBA remains focused primarily on underlying inflation, which governor Michele Bullock says is still too high for the central bank to consider reducing the cash rate. Underlying inflation was 3.5 per cent in the year to September, and Bullock notes that temporary electricity rebates contributed to the headline inflation rate falling to 2.8 per cent. Bullock has also emphasised the need for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to avoid any spending measures that may fuel inflation ahead of the federal election.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

The half trillion-dollar stimulus we didn’t know about

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 15-Oct-24

A series of reviews by the Reserve Bank of Australia into its policies during the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed details of a half trillion-dollar stimulus that many were not aware of. It has prompted the question of whether the stimulus, in combination with record low interest rates and government assistance, help cause the inflation problem that prompted the RBA to instigate a series of interest rate increases. A further question prompted by the RBA’s reviews is why Australians governments are yet to examine the merits of their pandemic policies.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Don’t expect rate cut soon: Bullock

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 25-Sep-24

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock has ruled out an official interest rate cut in the near-term, following the central bank’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday. Bullock says the RBA remains focused on the underlying inflation rate, rather than the headline rate. Monthly data to be released on Wednesday is expected to show that headline inflation was within the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent in August, compared with 3.5 per cent in July. However, Bullock has emphasised that electricity rebates from the federal and state governments contributed to this fall, and headline inflation is likely to rise above the target when the rebates expire next year. Lower petrol prices also put downward pressure on headline inflation in August.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Inflation is smashing incomes more than interest rates are

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Original article by John Kehoe, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Sep-24

Challenger’s chief economist Jonathan Kearns refutes claims by Treasurer Jim Chalmers that the Reserve Bank’s interest rate rises are "smashing the economy". The latest national accounts data shows that total household incomes rose by 6.2 per cent in 2023-24. Kearns contends that interest rates eroded just 1.3 percentage points of the income gains, compared with the 4.4 percentage point impact of inflation. He notes that unlike interest rates, inflation affects all households. Kearns is a former economist at the Reserve Bank.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF