Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Lowe gave a speech last night
Mike had the headlines:
- RBA's Lowe says central scenario for Australian economy remains positive
- RBA's Lowe confident that inflation will rise
The Australian Financial Review report on Lowe's speech also:
- Heavily indebted Australian households and governments are being urged to build greater financial resilience against a global economy facing fresh uncertainties following the rise of Donald Trump
- Lowe hinted that he was unlikely to grant households further official interest rate relief lest it generate even more borrowing - even if the economy could use more consumer spending."It is unlikely to be in the public interest, given current projections for the economy, to encourage a noticeable rise in household indebtedness, even if doing so might encourage slightly faster consumption growth in the short term"
Australia's public broadcaster emphasize the same point re interest rates and indebtedness, and add:
- Dr Lowe said the Reserve Bank remains positive on the Australian economy, anticipating economic growth to remain in line with expectations next year before picking up in 2018
AFR may be gated, but the ABC report is not.
Added - Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Martin report:
- Lowe has labelled Trump's trade policy "dangerous" and probably his biggest concern
- Lowe said he hoped wiser heads would prevail, but that if Mr Trump made good on his promise to slap tariffs of 45 per cent on imports from China, "there would be some response by China, which would not be good for the US or Chinese economy, and by extension it would not be good for us".
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Full text of Lowe's speech: Buffers and Options
