Economic and market news
In Australian economic and market news, the Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday decided to leave the official interest rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent.
The Board highlighted in its post-decision statement that recent data indicate inflation is easing. However, it emphasised that the reduction in price growth momentum has been driven by moderating goods inflation, with services inflation slowing at a more gradual pace.
A key element of services price inflation is ongoing wages growth. This was said to have picked up a little further in the December quarter, but appears to have peaked. However, decision-makers indicated that there is a question about how wages will respond to the slower growth in the economy at a time of excess demand, and while the labour market remains tight.
In the United States, new data show that price pressures are still present in the economy. Inflation ticked up to 0.4 per cent in January from the previous month’s figure of 0.3 per cent, driven mostly by higher energy and rental prices. Over the year to end-January inflation was 3.2 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent in the year to end-December.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called ‘core’ prices, also climbed 0.4 per cent from January to February, to record an annual rate of 3.8 per cent.
Given the ongoing ‘stickiness’ of inflation, and the likely difficulty in returning it to the Federal Reserve’s 2 per cent target from here, market expectations have strengthened that the central bank will hold official interest rates steady for the moment.
In other overseas news, the Bank of Japan raised its official interest rate for the first time since 2007. The central bank’s board raised the overnight call rate to a target range between 0.0 per cent to 0.1 per cent from -0.1 per cent, where it stood for eight years as part of a policy effort to encourage bank lending and reinflate the economy momentous shift for one of the world’s largest economies.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Was down another 0.12 per cent over the week to close at 7703.2 points on Tuesday.
All Ordinaries: Was down another 0.19 per cent in the period, closing at 7957.8 points on Tuesday.
Government Bonds
Government Bond Yields (Source: Bloomberg)
|
NAME |
COUPON |
PRICE |
YIELD |
1 DAY |
1 MONTH |
1 YEAR |
|
GTAUD2Y:GOV Australia Bond 2 Year Yield |
0.25
|
94.29 |
3.81% |
-5 |
-3 |
+79 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
2.75 |
95.88 |
3.71% |
-6 |
-8 |
+59 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
3.00 |
91.44 |
4.08% |
-3 |
-9 |
+69 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
88.35 |
4.29% |
-3 |
-9 |
+53 |
Reserve Bank of Australia (Source:RBA)
|
RBA CASH RATE TARGET (RBATCTR:IND) CURRENT (per cent) |
MOST RECENT DECISION (percentage points) |
MOST RECENT CHANGE (percentage points) |
1 YEAR PRIOR (per cent) |
|
4.35 |
+0 (19 March 2024) |
+0.25 (7 November 2023) |
3.60 |
Currencies (source:RBA)
As at the close on 19 March, the AUD/USD was down 1.30 per cent, over the week, closing at 0.6529 on Tuesday. The AUD/RMB was down 1.01 per cent, in the period, closing at 4.7000 on Tuesday.
Venture Capital
Exonate
The COO of Stoic investee Exonate, Loic Lhuiller, spoke to Medical News Today about the recent data from the Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial for the EXN407 eye drop. The interview provides deeper insights into the issue of diabetic eye disease,the current treatment options available and the acute need for non-invasive treatments to improve the quality of life of patients across the globe.
Morse Micro
The CEO of Stoic investee Morse Micro, Michael De Nil, spoke to EE Times Europe about the clear signs that Wi-Fi HaLow is set to gain significant adoption in the coming years, the complexity involved in developing its MM6108 SoC, and new market opportunities for this technology
Property
New data this weekshow that the national auction clearance rate was stronger again this week. The outturn of 74 per cent was up 1.2 per cent from last week’s preliminary figure of 72.8 per cent (revised down to 68 per cent) and the 71.8 per cent the week before.
