TD on the Reserve Bank of Australia February meeting

  • the actual policy statement released on the Tuesday was rather upbeat (and misleading for the markets) suggesting that all was on track

And go on:

  • all was revealed in the subsequent switch-to neutral Governor speech the next day
  • the February 8 Statement on Monetary Policy slashed growth forecasts and delayed yet again the return to target for core inflation

"Misleading' is a strong word. I can see their point though.

Anyway … I posted earlier that:

The minutes have been superseded by the speech from RBA Gov. Lowe just after the meeting which switched the Bank's bias to neutral (previously the Bank had been saying, again and again, that the next moves in rates was likely to be up, Lowe switched this to a next move could go up or down).

Also, previews posted earlier:

More via …

Westpac:

  • RBA minutes will provide some further information on the Board's view
  • but most of the detail has already been revealed in Governor Lowe's speech and the Statement on Monetary Policy

UBS:

  • RBA kept its 'near-neutral' outlook at its February policy meeting
  • Governor Lowe's speech was materially dovish.
  • The minutes will be watched closely for further hints on the outlook over labour market and inflation.