Westpac with the forecast for the RBA to end its bond-buying program. In summary:
- The actions of other central banks and the functioning of the bond market strongly support a cessation of the program. But progress on the full employment and inflation targets has also been significant, more than offsetting the impact on spending from the surge in Covid cases.
Yesterday we had another strong jobs report from Australia, taking the unemployment rate to its lowest since 2008. Earlier in the week we had data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on +9% wage growth y/y. Such developments are prompting analysts to tip the imminent end of QE and to shift their forecasts for an RBA rate hike sooner.
