Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy board member Ian Harper
Reported in Aussie media overnight:
- RBA comfortable holding interest rates steady for now "We're on target, but to be blunt there is also plenty of evidence that you wouldn't want to rush this (raising rates)"
- No reason "to scare the horses at the moment" by signalling coming interest rate increases
- No reason to join in the hawkish chorus coming from other central banks (fundamentals in Australia do not match those of other economies) ... and those other CBs eased policy much further than Australia di (& expanded balance sheets well beyond anything seen in Australia)
- Employment growth "encouraging"
- Remains plenty of slack in the job market ("There is still plenty of underemployment" )
- Wages weak
- Household indebtedness a headwind to recovery
- "it is not clear that inflation is rising"
- "We are not calling the economy dead. Things are recovering nicely. But it's a case of steady as she goes"
- Says a lower AUD would be beneficial for the economy. "It would help us along our way"
Harper's comments appeared earlier in the Wall Street Journal
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Professor Harper is also a member of the Reserve Bank Board Remuneration Committee ... so people in the bank tend to agree with him a lot ;-) (that's me having a joke BTW)
