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Bloomberg.com •

How Australia’s First-Time Voters Feel About the 2025 Election

Australians will vote in a May 3 ballot in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is campaigning to become the nation’s first leader in more than two decades to win back-to-back elections.But Albanese must first overcome a rising tide of disillusion in the electorate after three years of resurgent inflation and high interest rates that, combined with a housing shortage that sent rents soaring, triggered a cost-of-living crisis in the nation.
Bloomberg.com •

Australian Opposition Pledges Cut to Foreign Student Numbers

Australia’s center-right opposition vowed to reduce the allocation of international students if it wins office next month, saying the move would ease pressure on the nation’s overstretched housing market.Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Liberal-National coalition plans to introduce a percentage cap — expected to be about 25% — on new overseas student commencements at universities and other higher education institutions starting next year. The proposed reduction would limit annual commence...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Household Spending Misses Estimates in February

Australia’s household spending came in slightly weaker than expected in February, even as the Reserve Bank reduced interest rates for the first time in more than four years in that month.Spending advanced 0.2% from January, when it was upwardly revised to a 0.5% gain and compares with a forecast 0.3% increase, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed on Friday. From a year earlier, it climbed 3.3%.

Australia’s household spending came in slightly weaker than expected in February, even as t...
Bloomberg.com •

RBA Says Victoria Recorded Biggest Increase in Mortgage Arrears

Homeowners in Victoria and the state capital of Melbourne recorded the “most significant” increase in loan arrears among Australia’s regions during the period of strong inflation and elevated interest rates, the Reserve Bank said in a semi-annual report.“In part, this reflects that a higher share of borrowers in Victoria have both larger loan sizes and smaller cash buffers than other states, which have made them slightly less resilient,” the RBA said in its Financial Stability Review released in...
Bloomberg.com •

Australian House Prices Reach Fresh High Ahead of May Election

Australian home prices climbed to a fresh high in March buoyed by an interest-rate cut, highlighting persistent demand and suggesting housing will remain a significant issue in the current election campaign. The Home Value Index rose 0.4% last month, led by the key Sydney and Melbourne markets that “look to have turned a positive corner,” property consultancy CoreLogic Inc. said in a statement on Tuesday. Every major city in the country bar Hobart reported an increase.

Australian home prices c...
Bloomberg.com •

Goldman Scraps April RBA Cut, Still Sees Meeting as ‘Close Call’

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists pushed back their call for Australia’s next interest-rate cut to May from next week, citing uncertainty in domestic politics as well as the global trade outlook.The Goldman economists’ revised call brings them into line with most other analysts who predict the RBA will keep its cash rate unchanged at 4.1% on Tuesday, having cut for the first time in four years last month.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists pushed back their call for Australia’s next interest...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia 2025 Federal Budget: Who Were the Winners and Losers

As Australians prepare to head to the polls, the government unveiled its 2025-26 federal budget, which promises further relief for all taxpayers, as well as some incentives for families with kids in early childhood education, student debt holders and beer drinkers. Here’s a breakdown of some of the winners and losers in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ pre-election fiscal blueprint.Households

As Australians prepare to head to the polls, the government unveiled its 2025-26 federal budget, which promises...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Pre-Election Budget Largess May Temper RBA Rate Cuts

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will need to find a way of wooing voters while keeping spending under control when he hands down his pre-election budget in parliament on Tuesday.The fiscal blueprint he delivers needs to boost spending to ease cost pressures on disgruntled voters and offer them prospects for improvement under a second-term Labor government. Yet Chalmers must also contain the deficit to avoid potentially rekindling inflation and limiting further interest-rate cuts.

Australian T...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Employment Plunge Prompts Boost in Rate-Cut Bets

Australian employment surprisingly dropped in February, sending the currency and government bond yields lower as traders boosted bets on further interest-rate cuts this year.Employment declined by 52,800 — led by full-time roles — compared with a forecast 30,000 increase, government data showed on Thursday. The jobless rate held at 4.1%, reflecting a fall in participation.

Australian employment surprisingly dropped in February, sending the currency and government bond yields lower as traders bo...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Redesigned A$5 Note to Feature First Nations Theme

Australia’s central bank has announced a theme for the new A$5 note based on First Nations peoples’ connection to country, in a decision that came after more than 2,100 public nominations.The design selection panel, which included First Nations representatives and officials from the Reserve Bank and Note Printing Australia, chose the theme, according to a statement. The new design will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, with the reverse side still showing the Australian Parliament.

Aus...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Economic Inequality Rises to Highest in 20 Years

Economic inequality in Australia has climbed to the highest level in more than 20 years, according to a highly regarded survey in which more than half of respondents reported a decline in their real incomes.That’s one of the findings in the latest HILDA study that collects information about economic and personal wellbeing, labor market dynamics and family life in Australia and was released on Thursday. The latest survey period is for 2022.

Economic inequality in Australia has climbed to the hig...
Bloomberg.com •

Australian House Prices Rebound in February, Spurred by Rate Cut

Australian house prices rebounded last month as buyers jumped into the market in anticipation of the first interest-rate cut in more than four years which the Reserve Bank then delivered two weeks ago.The Home Value Index for major cities advanced 0.3% in February after two months of declines, property consultancy CoreLogic Inc. said in a statement on Monday. Sydney and Melbourne, the nation’s two largest markets, both recorded gains, as did all other cities except Darwin.

Australian house pric...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Monthly Inflation Holds Steady as Housing Gains Ease

A gauge of Australian headline inflation surprisingly held steady in January, suggesting price pressures in the economy are contained and reinforcing the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates last week.The Consumer Price Index indicator rose 2.5% versus economists’ estimate of a 2.6% gain, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. That was unchanged from the December reading.

A gauge of Australian headline inflation surprisingly held steady in January, su...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia’s Wage Growth Slows Further, Validating RBA Rate Cut

Australia’s wage growth slowed further in the final three months of last year, reflecting an easing in price pressures across the economy and vindicating the Reserve Bank’s decision to finally ease monetary policy. The Wage Price Index advanced an annual 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with an upwardly revised 3.6% in the prior period and matching economists’ estimate, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Wednesday. That was the biggest wages slowdown for any full year since...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia Housing to Stay Sluggish After RBA Cut, Stockland Says

The head of Australian property developer Stockland Corp. said elevated prices and limited supply remain significant hurdles to home buyers even as demand shows signs of picking up.“First home buyers want to enter the market — 45% want to buy, but only 32% can afford to,” Tarun Gupta, chief executive officer at Stockland, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

The head of Australian property developer Stockland Corp. said elevated prices and limited supply remain significant hurdl...
Bloomberg.com •

RBA Sees Small Hit to Economy From US Tariffs Even in Worst Case

Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here.Australia’s economy will take only a limited hit from US tariffs on China even if they are increased by 40 percentage points more than the Reserve Bank’s central scenario, according to an analysis released Tuesday.

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Australia’s economy will take only a limited hit from US tariffs on China even if they are increased by 40 percentage points more than...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia Must Tread Warily in Any US-China Standoff, ACCI Says

Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here.Australia needs to carefully manage ties with its biggest trading partner, China, and No. 1 investor and key ally, the US, as the world’s two largest economies face off, the head of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Institute said.

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Australia needs to carefully manage ties with its biggest trading partner, China, and No. 1 investor and key all...
Bloomberg.com •

US-Led Global Trade Tiff Risks Stoking Inflation for Australia

A US-led global trade war may intensify price pressures in Australia by weakening its currency, according to a Westpac Banking Corp. economist.US tariffs will make American goods more expensive, and so prices for the goods and services that Australia imports will go up too, Westpac’s senior economist Mantas Vanagas said in a report Friday.

A US-led global trade war may intensify price pressures in Australia by weakening its currency, according to a Westpac Banking Corp. economist.

US tariffs w...
Bloomberg.com •

US-Led Global Trade Tiff Risks Stoking Inflation for Australia

A US-led global trade war may intensify price pressures in Australia by weakening its currency, according to a Westpac Banking Corp. economist.US tariffs will make American goods more expensive, and so prices for the goods and services that Australia imports will go up too, Westpac’s senior economist Mantas Vanagas said in a report Friday.

A US-led global trade war may intensify price pressures in Australia by weakening its currency, according to a Westpac Banking Corp. economist.

US tariffs w...
Bloomberg.com •

Australia Rate Cut ‘Not a Done Deal,’ Bloomberg Economics Says

Australia’s solid labor market, resurgent consumer, robust credit growth and depreciating currency are all potential hurdles to the Reserve Bank lowering interest rates this month, according to James McIntyre at Bloomberg Economics.Financial markets and economists are predicting the RBA will finally embark on an easing cycle on Feb. 18, having kept the cash rate at a 13-year high of 4.35% since November 2023. But McIntyre, who covers Australia and New Zealand for Bloomberg Economics, cautioned a...
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