Australia
Fourth Rate Hike in Australia, 25 Bps to 4.0%
March 2, 2010
Having been the first G-20 nation last October 6 to see a rate hike after the global financial crisis, Australia became the first economy anywhere to undergo a fourth increase. All of them — one each in October, November and December — were by 25 basis points. Most analysts, myself included, expected today’s move as [...] More
No Rate Hike in Australia Sends AUD Lower
February 2, 2010
The Aussie dollar relapsed 1.1% against its U.S. counterpart after a surprise decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia not to implement a fourth rate hike now. The greenback otherwise slid 0.3% relative to the Canadian dollar and 0.1% against the euro, but has risen 0.3% against sterling and 0.1% versus the yen, Swiss franc and [...] More
Australian Cash Rate Not Raised This Month
February 1, 2010
The Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate was somewhat unexpectedly left at 3.75%, but the statement from officials noted that “if economic conditions evolve broadly as expected, the Board considers it likely that monetary policy will, over time, need to be adjusted further in order to ensure that inflation remains consistent with the target over [...] More
Australian Interest Rate Preview
February 1, 2010
I expect a 25-basis point rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia to be announced at 03:30 GMT Tuesday (22:30 EST in the U.S. tonight). It’s been nine weeks since the last RBA Board’s last policy meeting, when a third straight hike of 25 basis points to 3.75% was implemented. Reviewing that action on [...] More
Politicians Won’t Risk Not Reconfirming Bernanke
January 25, 2010
The dollar and yen are slightly lower in a sign of somewhat receding risk aversion, but stocks still look shaky. Congress took a look at the stock market bloodbath last week and decided not to kill Bernanke’s reappointment at Fed Chairman. The yen fell 0.4% against the dollar, which is otherwise off 0.8% against the Australian [...] More
Focus on Fed and Other Central Banks
December 16, 2009
The dollar is mixed as markets await the FOMC statement around 19:15 GMT today. No rate change is expected. A change in language on future rate guidance also seems unlikely, but modifications will be made in economic assessment and possibly comments about unconventional stimulus. The dollar is up 0.7% against the Australian dollar and 0.4% versus [...] More
