As expected Reserve Bank Board holds rates steady at March meeting
As we expected the Board of the Reserve Bank decided to hold the cash rate
steady at 3% following today's Board meeting.
There were minimal changes in the wording of the Governor's statement from
the statement issued on February 5 following that "no change" decision.
Of most importance was retaining the term "the inflation outlook, as
assessed at present, would afford scope to ease policy further should that
be necessary to support demand". Maintaining that statement indicates that
the Board retains an easing bias and future decisions will be impacted by
the growth profile.
By far the most important data release since the last meeting was the
Capital Expenditure survey for the December quarter. This survey provided
the first estimate of investment plans for the 2013-14 fiscal year. It also
provided the fifth updated estimate for investment in 2012-13. The news on
2012-13 was quite poor with substantial downward revisions to investment
plans. However, partly because the 2012-13 number was so low it was not too
big a stretch for the 2013-14 investment plans to show a solid increase.
Indeed by our calculations those plans indicated an 11% boost in investment
in 2013-14. That evidence is likely to have been a key factor in the Bank's
decision to hold rates steady. Indeed, while investment outside mining
continued to be assessed as "relatively subdued" the Governor did qualify
that with "recent data suggest some prospect of a modest increase during
the next financial year". Hence from the Bank's perspective progress in
rebalancing growth towards the non-mining sectors appeared to be underway.
Another aspect of the Capex survey indicated that the peak in resource
investment might be further out than previously assessed. However, there is
considerable uncertainty around those estimates and the Bank, prudently,
retained its general assessment that "the peak in resource investment is
approaching".
The themes that have figured consistently in previous statements were
repeated today – moderate growth in private consumption; near term outlook
for non residential building subdued; exports strengthening; public
spending constrained; inflation consistent with the medium term target; and
low demand for credit.
The wording on the housing market changed. Whereas in February it was
described as: "prospective improvement in dwelling investment", it is now
described as: "appears to be slowly increasing". This somewhat more
positive assessment is the direct result of a modest 2.1% reported increase
in housing construction for the December quarter. Higher dwelling prices
and rental yields are also noted.
The conviction that inflation will remain consistent with the medium term
target is given more support in this statement. Whereas the February
statement predicted that a soft labour market would be working to contain
pressures on labour costs this statement notes that this result has indeed
been "confirmed in the most recent data". In the February statement the
Bank raised the prospect of businesses focussing on lifting efficiency to
contain wage pressures and this sentiment is retained.
The description of the international situation is largely unchanged
although the Governor appears to be a little more confidence around
downside risks. Compare "downside risks appear to have abated, for the
moment at least" (February) with "downside risks appear to have lessened in
recent months".
The description of financial markets includes a more upbeat assessment of
the sharemarket, "share prices have risen substantially from their low
points". However, the Bank continues to point out that financial markets
remain vulnerable, adding "as seen most recently in Europe".
The key theme is repeated in this statement, "the full impact of this
[easing in monetary policy] will still take more time to become apparent,
there are signs that the easier conditions are having some of the expected
effects".
Despite the recent fall in the AUD (substantially more in USD terms than in
TWI terms) the Bank continues to point out that the exchange rate remains
higher than might have been expected.
Conclusion – expect the next rate cut by June.
This statement is clearly structured to signal that the Bank retains its
easing bias but will be patient before cutting rates further.
We believe that there will be another cut in this cycle but not until
around June. Forces that are most likely to highlight the need for lower
rates will be around: an ongoing softening in the labour market; contained
price and wage pressures; a disappointing response from business in terms
of investment; and a housing recovery that, while quite vibrant in Sydney,
will not be replicated around the country. We also expect that the
Australian dollar will be drifting higher through to mid year particularly
as foreign investors rebalance their appetite back towards high yielding
Australian assets.
Bill Evans
Chief Economist
Westpac Institutional Bank
This material has been provided for general information purposes and must not be construed as investment advice. This material has been prepared without taking into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. Investors should consider obtaining professional investment advice tailored to their specific circumstances prior to making any investment decisions and should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement.