RBA June meeting minutes released:
- AUD remains high given decline in commodity prices
- Policy likely to stay accommodative for some time yet
- Difficult to judge if low rates enough to offset mining investment, fiscal tightening
- These “uncertainties” would likely take some time to resolve
- Lower iron ore price still profitable for Australian miners, not so for some others
- Economic growth to be below trend for next year or so, inflation within target band
- Demand for labour had improved, but employment growth likely to be only moderate
- Spare labour capacity to keep wage growth restrained over the year ahead
- Budget tightening as expected over next two years, more substantial afterward
- Noted sharp fall in surveys of consumer confidence, doubted their predictive power
- Liaison with retailers suggested sales growth slowed further in May
- Significant recovery underway in home building, non-mining investment still subdued
Quick headlines via Reuters
Full text: Minutes of the June 2014 Monetary Policy Meeting of the Reserve Bank Board
–
Neutral policy bias appears to be still intact.
AUD a little lower (10 points or so) following the headlines.
