Reserve Bank of Australia November meeting minutes
- board prepared to ease policy further if needed
- board agreed "case could be made" for a rate cut at the November meeting
- decided rates should be held steady "at this meeting"
- board recognised "negative effects" of lower rates on savers and confidence
- rate cuts could have different impact on confidence than in the past
- saw case to wait and asses impact of "substantial" stimulus already delivered
- agreed extended period of low interest rates would be required to meet targets
- AUD at lower end of range of recent times
- saw "moderate" Australian GDP growth for the Sept qtr
- considerable uncertainty over the outlook for household consumption
- risks from home building sector tilted to downside, could delay recovery
- liaison showed firms expected steady wages growth, very few saw a pick up
- risk extended period of low wage growth could lower wage expectations, norms
- board agreed a lift in wages growth would be a "welcome development"
- risks to global growth forecasts still tilted to downside
Headlines via Reuters,
That lot is not very encouraging. Dovish set of minutes, but it was unlikely to be otherwise. I bolded a couple of the points above. The negative effects one … RBA seems to have settled well into that place between a rock and a hard place? There are few policy options open to a central bank other than twiddling with the interest rate lever …. or is 'unconventional' policy going to be on agenda sooner than we think?
