PREVIOUS TRADING DAY EVENTS 15 June 2023

Announcements

New Zealand enters a technical recession. New Zealands Gross domestic product GDP fell 0.1 in the first quarter, according to government data published on Thursday. It experienced two consecutive quarters of contraction.

The reported figure was in line with market expectations and gave traction to the central banks position that no further interest rate hikes would be needed. The data suggest though that employment remains strong in New Zealand. 

Its clear that the New Zealand economy is losing momentum, Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said in a note. What remains to be seen is whether things have slowed enough to put us on a path back to low and stable inflation.

Inflation in New Zealand lies at 6.7, well above the central banks target band of 1 to 3. The cash rate is at 5.5 and the central bank at its last meeting in May said the cash rate had peaked.

As demandside pressures on inflation continue to abate, the case for rate cuts will become increasingly compelling, Capital Economics economist Abhijit Surya said in a note.

Source

httpswww.reuters.comworldasiapacificnewzealandfirstquartergdpshrinks01countrynowtechnicalrecession20230614

Labor Market data for Australia released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday show high employment growth with 75.9K change versus the previous 4K figure, while the unemployment rate was reported 3.6, down from 3.7. 

This is a strong report for…