September cash rate remains unchanged at 4.10% – Financial Partners (TAS)

For the third consecutive month, The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to hold the official cash rate at 4.10%. The decision to maintain the cash rate at 4.10% comes after the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 4.9% in July, down from a peak of 8.4% in…

Oliver’s insights podcast: Episode #80: Another look at the RBA

AMP’s chief economist Dr. Shane Oliver reviews the Reserve Bank’s decision this week to hold at 4.1%. Has the RBA found a sustainable balance or is household spending power still likely to take even more of a hit in the coming months? For more info visit our insights hub: https://www.amp.com.au/insights-hub Important information: This podcast is general in nature and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account. It’s important you consider your personal circumstances and speak to …

Econosights: How are consumers responding to higher interest rates? | AMP Capital

Econosights: How are consumers responding to higher interest rates? Key points Consumers are responding to higher interest rates: housing market indicators are slowing (home price declines have accelerated and auction clearance rates are falling), consumer sentiment is weakening and retail spending is slowing. This is the expected consumer response as interest rates rise. The RBA wants to see slowing economic activity to reduce current inflation and inflation expectations. The concern is around too many rate …

Investment markets and key developments over the past week | AMP Capital

Investment markets and key developments over the past week It was a turbulent week for markets after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.5% at its May board meeting. This outcome was expected by the market and economists and the market actually rose from comments by Fed Chair Powell that 0.75% rate rises was “not something that the committee is actively considering” which alleviated fears of an extremely aggressive short-term rate hike profile …

Jobs and inflation to trigger higher rates? | AMP Capital

Jobs and inflation to trigger higher rates?   The labour market is strong, with higher employment levels than pre-COVID, a record participation rate and a low unemployment rate of four per cent. Alongside increasing inflation, that’s enough trigger a rise in the official cash rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), most likely when the RBA board meets on Tuesday (3 May). The pace of Australian jobs growth slowed last month, but that was …

The US Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates – implications for Australia and investors | AMP Capital

The US Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates – implications for Australia and investors Key Points The Fed has finally joined other central banks in raising interest rates, taking the Fed Funds rate from a range of 0-0.25% to 0.25-0.5%. This was well flagged and reflects the tight US labour market and high inflation. The Fed flagged another six rate hikes this year and the start of quantitative tightening soon. First rate hikes in a …

RBA concerns underline mid-to-long term risks for the housing market

RBA concerns underline mid-to-long term risks for the housing market One of the more interesting snippets of information to come out of the minutes of the February meeting of the Reserve Bank Board was an acknowledgement by members of the risks generated by a low-rate environment and, in particular, those “linked to higher leverage and asset prices, particularly in the housing market”. They weren’t concerned enough to detour from their stimulus program, but the RBA …

Key highlights from the RBA’s April board meeting | AMP Capital

Key highlights from the RBA’s April board meeting Today the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held its regular board meeting, albeit in extraordinary times for Australia and indeed the world. What we saw today from the RBA was no monetary policy changes, for the simple reason that less than three weeks ago, they made some radical changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RBA instead reaffirmed its recent actions – cutting the cash rate …

What the RBA’s response to COVID-19 means for the Australian economy | AMP Capital

What the RBA’s response to COVID-19 means for the Australian economy   The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) met today and agreed to a support package for the Australian economy, through the challenging period that is the COVID-19 outbreak. The central bank acknowledged this is, first and foremost, a health issue, and that the primary response is to manage the health of the population. As the RBA said, other arms of policy play an important …

RBA marks new record low with March cash rate call | AMP Capital

The Reserve Bank board has cut interest rates again by 0.25% at their March meeting, their fourth such cut since June last year. The move comes largely in response to the uncertainty caused by the global outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19), and up until about last Friday I’d have said it was a close call as to whether the bank would cut or stay put. The run of soft domestic economic data over the past …