Latest news with #ReserveBankofAustralia
Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Australia shares climb as miners, energy stocks rally; Woodside jumps on upbeat results
Australian shares rose on Wednesday led by miners and energy stocks, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the looming U.S. tariff deadline, while Woodside Energy climbed over 2% after posting stronger-than-expected second-quarter results. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4% to 8,708.1 by 0031 GMT. The benchmark ended flat at 8,677.20 points on Tuesday. With an August 1 deadline for sweeping U.S. import tariffs looming, investors await signs of relief, after Washington announced a trade deal with Japan. Australia faces a 10% baseline tariff on most exports to the U.S. Meanwhile, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's July meeting on Tuesday showed a cautious stance in July, with board members deciding to keep the interest rate unchanged against market expectations, opting to wait for more evidence of a sustained slowdown in inflation. Local miners led the charge on the benchmark by rising as much as 2.2%, tracking a rise in iron ore prices. Shares of miners Fortescue were up 2.4%, while BHP and Rio Tinto gained 1.8% and 2.7% respectively. Energy stocks climbed 0.8% due to rising oil prices. Woodside Energy's shares outpaced the broader sub-index, and were up 2.4%. The country's top gas producer reported a stronger-than-expected 8% rise in second-quarter revenue. Gold stocks also rose 2.2%, tracking a surge in bullion prices. Shares of gold miners Northern Star Resources and St Barbara were up 2.6% and 2.4% respectively. Countering gains, the financials sub-index shed 0.2% with shares of National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia down 0.7% each. Information technology sub-index also dropped 0.3%, with Australian-listed shares of Xero down 0.8%. Shares of WiseTech Global fell 0.6%. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 12,790.74.
Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Australia, NZ dollars underpinned as trade deals buff sentiment
SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars held firm on Wednesday as news of a potential U.S. trade deal with Japan salved risk sentiment, but also lessened some of the uncertainty that has been plaguing the greenback. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. and Japan had struck a trade deal that included a 15% tariff, below the 25% threatened, though a lack of detail limited the overall reaction. 'The deals are providing some boost to market sentiment on the grounds that worst case tariff rates have been avoided,' said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP. 'That said, the rates so far are way up on levels at the start of the year and still pose the threat of a significant negative impact on U.S. economic growth and global trade disruption.' The reaction in currency markets was cautious, leaving the Aussie a fraction firmer at $0.6562, having bounced 0.5% overnight as the U.S. dollar eased broadly. That put a buffer between last week's low of $0.6454 and refocused attention on the recent eight-month peak of $0.6595. The kiwi dollar held at $0.6006, after rallying almost 0.6% overnight and away from a recent trough of $0.5906. Resistance now lies around $0.6043. There was no domestic data of note, though Australia's statistician did release more details of the upcoming switch to a full monthly consumer price series that could speed up the pace of interest rate changes. Australia is one of the few developed world countries to report CPI quarterly, making it hard for policymakers to read inflation trends in a timely manner. The Reserve Bank of Australia skipped a rate cut this month in large part to wait for a reading on second quarter CPI due on July 30. The steady decision badly wrong-footed markets, an outcome that might well have been avoided if a full monthly CPI had been in place. Indeed, the RBA has a long history of waiting for quarterly CPI readings before changing rates, suggesting the start of the new series in November could accelerate the whole process. The head of the central bank, Michele Bullock, is due to speak on inflation and employment on Thursday and is likely to be asked the importance of the data shift. Markets currently imply a near 100% chance the RBA will cut the 3.85% cash rate at its next meeting in August, and lower it to 3.10% by the end of the year.
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Australia outlines new complete monthly CPI, in relief for policy makers
SYDNEY, July 23 (Reuters) - Australia's statistician on Wednesday provided more detail on the introduction of a new complete monthly consumer price index that will bring the country in line with its global peers and allow for more timely decisions by policy makers. The new series, which starts on November 26, will be a huge relief to the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has long complained that the current quarterly CPI made it hard to know where inflation was heading in real time. The central bank paused its rate cut cycle this month in large part to await the CPI report for the second quarter due on July 30. If that shows core inflation slowing as expected, markets fully assume the RBA will cut rates again in August. "The transition to a complete, internationally comparable Monthly CPI as Australia's primary measure of headline inflation will provide better information for monetary and fiscal policy decisions that have a direct impact on all Australians," said Australian Statistician David Gruen. The Australian Bureau of Statistics updated its website to include details of the new complete CPI, which will be released on the last Wednesday of every month following the reference month. The exception being the coming November report which will be out on January 7. The new series will replace the current monthly CPI, which only covers some of the prices included in the quarterly release and tends to be volatile. The new CPI and various measures of core inflation, including the closely watched trimmed mean, will go back to April 2024, the point when the ABS increased the frequency of price collection. Previously, only around half of the CPI basket of goods and services was collected monthly. Mock data tables that illustrate the format, structure, and content of the files will be published in September. The ABS will continue to produce a quarterly CPI data series for those needing quarterly figures for indexation, contract or other purposes. The full ABS release can be found at: opens new tab
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia outlines new complete monthly CPI, in relief for policy makers
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's statistician on Wednesday provided more detail on the introduction of a new complete monthly consumer price index that will bring the country in line with its global peers and allow for more timely decisions by policy makers. The new series, which starts on November 26, will be a huge relief to the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has long complained that the current quarterly CPI made it hard to know where inflation was heading in real time. The central bank paused its rate cut cycle this month in large part to await the CPI report for the second quarter due on July 30. If that shows core inflation slowing as expected, markets fully assume the RBA will cut rates again in August. "The transition to a complete, internationally comparable Monthly CPI as Australia's primary measure of headline inflation will provide better information for monetary and fiscal policy decisions that have a direct impact on all Australians," said Australian Statistician David Gruen. The Australian Bureau of Statistics updated its website to include details of the new complete CPI, which will be released on the last Wednesday of every month following the reference month. The exception being the coming November report which will be out on January 7. The new series will replace the current monthly CPI, which only covers some of the prices included in the quarterly release and tends to be volatile. The new CPI and various measures of core inflation, including the closely watched trimmed mean, will go back to April 2024, the point when the ABS increased the frequency of price collection. Previously, only around half of the CPI basket of goods and services was collected monthly. Mock data tables that illustrate the format, structure, and content of the files will be published in September. The ABS will continue to produce a quarterly CPI data series for those needing quarterly figures for indexation, contract or other purposes. The full ABS release can be found at: Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Times
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
RBA seen cutting three more times by early 2026, matching market
[SYDNEY] Economists expect Australia's central bank will deliver three more interest-rate cuts by early 2026, up from two seen previously, bringing their outlook into line with money market pricing. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will take its cash rate to 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, from 3.85 per cent now, and then pause for a prolonged period, according to the median estimate of 40 economists in a Bloomberg survey released on Wednesday (Jul 23). While the RBA's easing cycle has coincided with counterparts from the UK to Canada and New Zealand, those peers have broadly moved at a faster pace. By contrast, the US Federal Reserve has yet to cut this year. Bloomberg Economics anticipates further measured reductions in coming months by most of the 23 central banks in its quarterly guide to the global monetary outlook. Wednesday's poll follows the RBA's surprise decision this month to hold its cash rate steady, defying expectations for a cut. Minutes of the rate-setting board's Jul 7 to 8 meeting released on Tuesday showed policymakers judged that a third reduction in four reviews would conflict with their 'cautious and gradual' easing approach. Luci Ellis, chief economist at Westpac Banking, pointed out that the RBA's preference is for rate reductions that coincide with the release of the staff's quarterly update of macroeconomic forecasts. So a July move 'would have looked a bit like the market pricing forced the cut', said Ellis, who was previously an assistant governor at the RBA. 'The more recent data flow, including on the labour market, makes an August timing even more likely than it did immediately after the July meeting.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Figures last week showed Australian unemployment unexpectedly climbed to a four-year high in June as hiring almost stalled. Still, the 4.3 per cent jobless rate and annual employment growth of 2 per cent were both broadly in line with the RBA's forecasts. That's one reason why some economists, including Bank of America's Nick Stenner who accurately forecast the July pause, see a shallower easing cycle, with just two more cuts to come. Vanguard Investments Australia's Grant Feng concurs. 'We believe that the disinflation process in Australia will be slow,' Feng said. 'Consequently, the RBA is likely to adopt a cautious stance towards rate cuts, with the pace of easing expected to be gradual throughout the year.' BLOOMBERG
