Reserve Bank of Australia
Weak European Data, Fizzled Oil Price Rally, and an Unexpected Australian Central Bank Rate Hike
June 6, 2023
Concerns about a global demand slowdown depressed the dollar, equities, and the prices of crypto and oil this Tuesday. The dollar fell 1.0% against the Aussie dollar, 0.6% versus the euro and yen, and 0.3% relative to sterling. An exception was the Turkish lira against which the dollar advanced by a further 1.2% overnight. Share […] More
Factory Purchasing Manager Surveys, An Australian Central Bank Rate Hike, and Much More
May 2, 2023
It’s been a busy Tuesday from an event and data-release standpoint, but financial market movements have been more measured. Drops of 1.0% against the Australian dollar and 0.7% versus the New Zealand dollar followed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 25-basis point rate hike after having paused tightening in March. Against other currencies, however, the dollar […] More
A Pause in Australian Monetary Tightening
April 4, 2023
The Reserve Bank of Australia‘s Official Cash Rate, which had been raised from 0.1% to 3.6% between May 2022 and last month, was left unchanged. A released statement said that inflation had peaked in Australia but projects that a return to the 2-3% target isn’t expected until around mid-2025. This constitutes the first central bank […] More
Another Rise in Equities Despite Higher Bond Yields and Price of Oil
April 4, 2023
Fear of an additional climb in central bank interest rates has lessened. The Reserve Bank of Australia‘s Official Cash Rate, which had been raised from 0.1% to 3.6% between May 2022 and last month, was left unchanged. A released statement said that inflation had peaked in Australia but projects that a return to the 2-3% […] More
Australia’s Tenth Central Bank Rate Hike of the Current Tightening Cycle
March 7, 2023
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Official Cash Rate was increased to a decade-high 3.60% from 3.25%, matching the 25-basis point increment size after the previous four policy reviews. The OCR had been cut in 2020 by a total of 75 basis points to 0.10% and was left at that low level until monetary tightening began […] More
Awaiting Chairman Powell’s Semi-Annual Congressional Testimony
March 7, 2023
Formerly known as the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony, Fed Chairman Powell will testify about how the Fed sees the U.S. economy and inflation evolving before the Senate Banking Committee today at 10:00 (15:00 GMT) and the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow. Investors particularly will glean his remarks for clarification of what monetary officials need to see before […] More
Australia’s Ninth Interest Rate Hike Since May 2022
February 7, 2023
The Reserve Bank of Australia‘s Officials Cash Rate was raised another 25 basis points to 3.35%, its highest level in eleven plus years and up from 0.10% prior to the onset of tightening last May. CPI inflation in Australia reached a 32-year high of 7.8%, and its core pace of 6.9% was also well above […] More
Dollar Trading at Highest Level Since the First Week of January
February 7, 2023
The softening dollar trend in the final quarter of 2022 had extended into January, but that month’s losses have been mostly reversed in recent days by heightened geopolitical strains between the U.S. and China and even more so by a rise in expectations about how high the federal funds rate will need to be raised […] More
Equity Retreat Extended and Dollar Narrowly Mixed
December 6, 2022
Overnight dollar movements include a rise of 0.4% against the loonie coupled with a drop of 0.4% against the Swiss franc; an uptick of 0.2% relative to the yen versus a 0.2% downtick against the euro, dips of 0.1% vis-a-vis the Australian and New Zealand dollars, and no net change against sterling. More significant change […] More
Investors Heartened by Unconfirmed Social Media Reports that Chinese Covid Restrictions Will Be Relaxed Soon
November 1, 2022
Stock markets in the Pacific Rim soared 5.2% in Hong Kong, 2.6% in China, 1.7% in Australia, 1.8% in South Korea, and 1.2% in Singapore. Japan’s Nikkei firmed only 0.3%, by contrast, but equities in German, France, Great Britain, Spain and Italy are all trading 1-2% higher so far today. U.S. future point to a […] More
