Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Restrictive policy will bring inflation to heel With Australia's inflation problem proving stubborn, we expect the RBA to hike again next week. Core market services inflation has accelerated, while rising import costs for electronics threaten to... 30th October 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Hawkish RBA may yet hike rates again RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser’s hawkish comments this week have heightened the risk of another rate hike in November. Elevated energy prices, the AI investment boom and weak productivity threaten... 23rd October 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Looser labour market means policy is tight enough The RBA argued that monetary policy was only “somewhat restrictive” at its September meeting. However, the Bank’s decision to lift the cash rate further at that meeting means that policy is now more... 16th October 2026 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly New Zealand’s recovery will remain gradual National income data released this week showed that New Zealand households are still saving at a high rate. However, with real income growth slowing and housing wealth continuing to fall, they are... 9th October 2026 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA’s tightening cycle is likely at an end The RBA left the door open to further tightening when it hiked rates by 25bp this week. However, policy is already well into restrictive territory and much of this year’s tightening has yet to work... 2nd October 2026 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly AI boost to productive capacity remains elusive We share RBA Governor Bullock’s view that the AI boom is currently doing more to boost demand than the economy’s supply side. With business surveys also suggesting that price pressures remain elevated... 25th September 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA won’t crush the labour market to rein in inflation With RBA Governor Bullock arguing this week that upside risks to inflation are materialising, a rate hike at the Bank’s September meeting looks like a done deal. And given that headline inflation will... 18th September 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly One more RBA hike should do the job RBA policymakers continued to signal concerns about upside risks to inflation, while survey data showed that firms still face elevated price pressures. We expect a 25bp hike to 4.60% later this month... 11th September 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA will hike rates to 4.60% this month With the economy still growing around trend and trimmed mean inflation showing no signs of slowing, the upside risks to inflation that the RBA has been worried are starting to crystallise. We now... 4th September 2026 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly The risk of another RBA rate hike is growing This week’s firm inflation and household spending data have raised the risk that the RBA’s tightening cycle is not yet over. But the investment picture is more mixed, while softer labour and housing... 28th August 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA’s bark will be worse than its bite With the RBA keeping up its hawkish rhetoric, financial markets continue to see another rate hike this cycle as more likely than not. We remain sceptical. Data released this week show that labour... 21st August 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Housing downturn will prevent further RBA tightening With the RBA still sounding hawkish, investors think that another rate hike over the coming months is more likely than not. However, we are reluctant to bet against history as the Bank has rarely... 14th August 2026 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Weak labour market will give RBNZ pause for thought New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose more sharply last quarter than the Reserve Bank of New Zealand had anticipated and leading indicators suggest that it will remain high for now. Accordingly, we... 7th August 2026 · 4 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA is done hiking rates Underlying inflation in Q2 didn’t pick up nearly as much as the RBA had expected. Although the path to disinflation is likely to be bumpy, we think the Bank will judge policy sufficiently restrictive... 31st July 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Strong jobs, higher fuel prices keep rate hike in play June’s employment surge shows that Australia’s labour market remains resilient despite some broader cooling, while the sharp rise in regional fuel benchmarks is likely to push domestic pump prices... 24th July 2026 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Data centre boom a mixed blessing for mining sector Strong electricity demand resulting from the rollout of data centres is a mixed blessing for Australia’s mining sector. It could boost demand for lithium to produce storage batteries and demand for... 17th July 2026 · 6 mins read
