New Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe, appearing before parliament's House of Representatives' Standing Committee on Economics
Earlier remarks here
More now:
- Household consumption growth has been ok, not far from trend
- Says non-mining growth reasonably broad based, aided by population growth
I'll update this post with any further comments of interest
Such as ...
- A lower AUD would be helpful
- But, of course, most central banks would like lower currencies
- Its understandable why the AUD has risen over recent months, but good if a bit lower
C'mon Mr. Lowe "but good if a bit lower" ... jawboning? Ur doin' it wrong - sink the boot in!
More:
- Labour market not as strong as headline unemployment suggests
- Labour market story positive overall, can look forward to reasonable jobs growth
More:
- Very unlikely the RBA will run out of policy room
- Government could use balance sheet to borrow to fund infrastructure investment
(Lowe referring to using fiscal policy ... a current central bank obsession it seems)
More;
- Tolerance for inflation outside of 2 to 3% has not changed
- Inflation is often outside the target
- Further rate cuts possible, depends on a while range of factors
More:
- Low wage growth has helped Australia's job growth
- Low wages, strong employment seen across western world
- Expects wages will rise as unemployment declines further
- low wage growth in Australia 'persistent but temporary'
- households using extra cash to pay debt, not spend ... households paying down debt delays policy transmission
- Would not characterise Western Australia as technical recession
- Western Australia production high from mining exports ... job market in WA is weak as mine exports require little labour
More:
- There are better ways to stimulate economy than zero, negative rates
