Reserve Bank of Australia announcement & Lowe's statement due at 0330GMT. There is no press conference after (there never is but some folks do ask me about it).
Earlier preview here:
In summary from an ING note on what to expect:
- Having taken quite a hawkish position at the last meeting, we can't see rates being cut this month, but the Reserve Bank of Australia may well take a more dovish tone, which could remove the floor below the Australian dollar.
- The cash rate is still at risk of a reduction in the second quarter
we suspect there is a divergence between the number of downside risks to the Australian economic outlook and those embedded in the current RBA message. - Governor Lowe may well retain his sanguine tone at this meeting, but the bar for a hawkish surprise seems high.
- We think the RBA is less likely to provide further support to the Aussie dollar and expect any AUD weakness to be mostly channelled through a lower AUD/NZD, where the monetary policy differential may be more evident (given a neutral RBNZ) than in AUD/USD (considering mounting expectations around Fed easing). We expect AUD/NZD to approach 1.03 in the coming weeks, also helped by a more aligned positioning
(bolding mine)
