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Australia consumer inflation expectations 4.61% y-o-y in Sep-23

- Consumer inflation expectations in Australia for September 2023 decreased to 4.61% year-on-year, the lowest growth since April 2023.
- The current expectations are 0.55 percentage points below the one-year average, indicating subdued inflationary sentiment, but still remain 0.24 percentage points above the long-run average, suggesting a modestly elevated inflationary environment compared to historical trends.

Australia unemployment rate 3.69% (consensus 3.7) in Aug-23

- Australia's unemployment rate in August 2023 declined to 3.69%, reaching its lowest level since June 2023, indicating a positive trend in the labor market.
- The employment change figure of 64.86k surpassed expectations, highlighting a substantial increase in job opportunities and contributing to the overall strength of the labor market.

Australia GDP growth 0.36% q-o-q (consensus 0.3) in Q2-23

- Australia's GDP grew by 0.36% q-o-q in Q2-23, exceeding the consensus forecast, but marking the lowest growth rate since Q3-21.
- Capital expenditure increased by 2.36% q-o-q, indicating business investment, while consumption growth remained modest at 0.19% q-o-q.

RBA: Sep-23

• The Board's decision to maintain the current interest rates stems from a strategy to stabilize the supply-demand balance and observe the accumulated effects of past hikes amidst economic ambiguities.
• Persistent high inflation, combined with a period of below-trend growth and a robust labour market, characterizes the current Australian economic landscape. The Board aims to guide inflation back within the 2-3% range by 2025.
• External factors, including global services price inflation and uncertainties in the Chinese economy, coupled with domestic factors like firm pricing decisions and household spending trends, will significantly influence future monetary policy decisions.