Australia’s futures market expects the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to deliver another three 0.25% interest rate cuts this year, which would take the official cash rate down to 3.1%. The latest Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP) from the RBA seems to support this notion, given that it significantly lowered its estimate of the neutral
The ferrous complex is unwinding. Steel is under the pump. Bloomberg. Prices of a key Chinese steel product used in construction were at their lowest since 2017 as the world’s biggest market for the metal grappled with a massive glut. Reinforcement bar — or rebar for short — is a benchmark for China’s traditional steel
It sounds huge. China is on the cusp of its biggest move yet to open up its vast commodities markets, after the Shanghai Futures Exchange unveiled an internationalization plan to streamline access for overseas investors. The country’s biggest raw materials bourse is soliciting views on a proposal to let participants post foreign exchange as collateral for yuan-denominated trades, according
The International Energy Agency, in its latest oil market report, raised historical demand estimates. As a result, the IEA now estimates that the oil market was slightly undersupplied last year, while previously it forecasted a small surplus in 2024. With demand seasonally rising and the eight OPEC+ member states with additional voluntary cuts likely still
Modelling undertaken by Tulipwood Economics on behalf of the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia suggests that reducing the sector’s tax take could significantly boost economic activity. The modelling claims that reducing the tax rate for small businesses from 25% to 20% could increase GDP by between $5.2 billion and $11 billion over the
Greens leader Larissa Waters gave a wide-ranging interview, declaring that the environment is in the party’s DNA and will remain a key focus. “Yes, of course, we formed originally out of the environment and climate movement and, yes, that’s in our DNA”, she said. Waters’ declaration comes amid the backdrop of the party’s immigration policy,
Westpac on monthly inflation. The Monthly CPI Indicator gained 2.4% in the year to April, stronger than Westpac’s estimate of 1.9%yr and just a touch more than the market’s estimate of 2.3%yr. There was a reasonably wide range of estimates this month, from a high of 2.6%yr to a low of 1.9%yr. The CPI Indicator
Nick Reece, Melbourne’s Lord Mayor and prominent promoter of mass immigration, believes he has the solution to the city’s housing crisis and failing economy: more migrants and international students. Late last year, Reece announced that he was actively canvassing Chinese and Indian companies to open headquarters in Melbourne, citing the city’s large Indian and Chinese
DXY is hanging on again. AUD is still grinding up but failing to launch Leads boots are climbing Gold and oil shaky. Metals no bueno. EM meh. Junk all clear. Yields eased. Stocks eased. It is a strange new world in which both DXY and AUD are heavily shorted so both may climb at any
The release of a set of “real” FOMC minutes sent Wall Street lower overnight as the Fed reiterated its fears about a US recession in the wake of the Trump regime’s tariffs, even with all the TACO drippings that seem to follow each new threat and bluster. The real effect on isolation of the US