Australia’s unemployment rate is currently at a historically low 4.3%, and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) most recent Statement of Monetary Policy predicts that it will continue around this level until the end of 2027. The fundamental reason for Australia’s low unemployment rate is that government spending has resulted in a record increase in
The ferrous complex is stronger in the last week as steel inventory rundowns are finally boosting prices. At least keeping pace with iron ore. Vale is playing games. Brazilian mining company Vale has lowered its forecast for iron ore production in 2026 to 335-345 million tons, according to a company statement. The previous forecast was 340-360
For months, the strong rebound in net permanent and long-term (NPLT) arrivals has pointed to rising immigration and population growth. The latest civilian population data contained in the October labour force release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggested that population growth has rebounded, alongside the rebound in NPLT arrivals: Wednesday’s Q3 2025 national
Dozens of oil tankers in Russia’s shadow fleet will be hit by a fresh round of Australian sanctions in a bid to starve Vladimir Putin of revenue to fund his war machine as the federal government announces its first military support package for Ukraine in more than a year.
The Albanese government is not about to implement a national-interest East Coast gas reservation scheme. It is about to deliver what the LNG cartel itself campaigned for. Cabinet has not signed off on the final details of the reservation scheme, but several senior government sources unauthorised to speak publicly said the government was preparing to
A slowing or deep diving US labour market (not that we would know given the lack of NFP prints) saw a lot more weakness in USD overnight as markets anticipate a full rate cut by the Fed in next week’s meeting. Wall Street continued to edge out higher with European stocks dragged along while Treasuries
The post Macro Morning appeared first on MacroBusiness.
DXY is down, down. AUD is up and away. CNY tailwind. Gold tailwind. Metals tailwind. Miners tailwind. EM not so much. Junk looks worried. Yields fell. Stocks firmed. The ADP survey in the US was weak. “Hiring has been choppy of late as employers weather cautious consumers and an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” said Dr. Nela
On Tuesday, I reported on the following chart from Alex Joiner at IFM Investors showing how real non-mining sales of goods and services in Australia have grown by 51% since 2002. However, when adjusted for population growth, real sales have remained flat, growing by just 2% since 2002: The chart highlighted how the Australian economy has
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has sparked a backlash after posting an image showing a popular children’s cartoon character attacking what appear to be drug traffickers. This comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump faces renewed scrutiny over lethal strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Washington has decided to stop negotiating with the supporting cast and go straight to the main stage. For the first time since the US revived its push for a negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict, the center of gravity has shifted to Russia.
Australia has the highest concentration of international students among major advanced nations. Figures from the Department of Home Affairs show that the approval rate for international student visas fell below 75% in October, compared to 83.6% for the same month in 2024. The decline in approval rates came at the same time as the number
The first rant I ever posted on this blog all the way back in early 2017 was entitled Gun Nuts and it referred to data from 2013 on general gun deaths in the US. At that time 33,534 people were killed by guns, at a rate of 10.35 per 100,000 people. In Australia in the same year 225 people were killed by guns, at a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 people1.
AUD/USD EUR/USD USD/JPY GBP/USD Gold West Texas Intermediate Brent ASX200 US S&P 500 UK 100 Japan 225
The post Macro Afternoon: 3 December 2025 appeared first on MacroBusiness.
The conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was constructive, very useful, and substantive, according to Russian Presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov.
He made the comment after five hours of talks between the Russian president, his envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Wtikoff which fininshed after midnight local time.