Reserve Bank of Australia June 6 monetary policy Board meeting
Headlines via Reuters:
- RBA says an appreciating A$ would complicate economic rebalancing
- Judged steady policy consistent with growth and inflation targets
- Says broad based pick up in global economy
- Says tighter regulations should lessen risks from high and rising debt
- High level of China debt a medium term risk
- Home prices rising briskly in some areas
- Commodity prices providing a boost to Australia's national income
- Wage growth slow, and likely to remain that way for a while
- Labour market indicators remain mixed
- Year-end GDP growth is expected to have slowed in the March quarter
- Some signs that conditions in the housing market are starting to ease
The comment on Q1 GDP is more interesting once its taken in full:
- Year-ended GDP growth is expected to have slowed in the March quarter, reflecting the quarter-to-quarter variation in the growth figures. Looking forward, economic growth is still expected to increase gradually over the next couple of years to a little above 3 per cent.
The bolded bit is mine. I think it's the RBA's way of saying Q1 growth is awful.
Further, on the slow wages growth bit, the Statement adds this:
- Slow growth in real wages is restraining growth in household consumption
Yeah, that's the problem, innit? That sentence is immediately followed by:
- The outlook continues to be supported by the low level of interest rates.
The RBA is sticking to its guns. Are they being stubborn and refusing to recognise signs of growing weakness in the economy, or are they right to expect growth to pick up? I'm leaning towards 'stubborn' but maybe I'm wrong.
Regardless of what I think, there it is - the June meeting outcome. On hold and a neutral-ish statement.
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Full text of Lowe's statement:
