NAB Morning Call

Thursday 21st December 2023

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UK inflation fell much faster than expected and more than the Bank of England predicted. NAB’s Gavin Friend in London says its clear that there will be no more rate hikes in the UK, reflected in markets today with a sharp rise in equities and a significant drop in bond yields. There was another Christmas gift in the US Conference Board’s consumer confidence read which showed heightened optimism for the new year. The only negative sign was, perhaps, a rise in the jobs plentiful index which could arguably delay the fall in wage growth. Meanwhile, the EU is clearly ready to move on from worrying about inflation to focusing on government debt, with finance ministers today agreeing that all member states should return to a debt to GDP ratio of 60%. Good luck with that!

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Wednesday 20th December 2023

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The RBA minutes yesterday were more hawkish than expected. NAB’s Rodrigo Catril talks about how the central bank is aiming for the mid-point of their 2 – 3 percent target range, rather than the top, raising the prospect of rates staying higher, or a more concerted effort to bring inflation down faster. This adds to the speculation that interest rates will be lifted in February, although a lot will depend, of course, on Q4 CPI, out late in January. Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan did and said little and Canada’s core inflation bounced back up a little. A reminder to all that it isn’t beaten yet.  

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Tuesday 19th December 2023

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US bond yield rose higher overnight, along with equities, as the prospect of a slower path of rates cuts by the Fed sinks in. NAB’s Skye Masters says it’s a settling down after the rally in bonds we’ve seen in the last month or so, helped by more Fed speakers overnight talking down the prospect of early rate cuts next year. In other news, the German IFO reader can be added to the list of releases showing a European slowdown. The focus today will be on the RBA minutes. Skye isn’t sure there will be much to gain beyond the statement earlier in the month, but never say never. The same applies to the Bank of Japan meeting today – they are not expected to lift rates, or give an indication of when they will, but they have provided a pre-Christmas surprise before. 

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Monday 18th December 2023

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The US Fed’s John Williams said on Friday that it was too soon to be looking at rate cuts, despite the FOMC dots plot showing members expecting several cuts next year. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Tapas Strickland about Williams’ motivation and the market response. Meanwhile, as data from China remains soft the PBoC is pumping 800 billion Yuan into the economy. Tapas explains the approach and whether it will work. European PMI data came in softer than expected, whilst the UK seems a little more resilient in the services sector. But with a central bank governor reluctant to move too quickly, is stronger data good or bad for Britain?

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Friday 15th December 2023

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When it comes to the use and deployment of AI a Deloitte report reckons many Australian businesses are slow to catch on to the risks and opportunities it presents. This week Phil Dobbie talks to Rhiannon Yetsenga, a manager in the Economic Analysis and Policy team at Deloitte Access Economics, about a recent survey of 2,500 Australian employees and students, which highlights how Generative AI in particular is transforming the workplace.

Rhiannon says, unlike many business transformations, this one is being employee led. Companies need to be aware that it is happening, learn how to manage risk and take advantage of the opportunities it presents, as a first-step to more complex AI projects.

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Friday 15th December 2023

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Whilst the FOMC signalled the likelihood of several rate cuts next year, NAB’s Gavin Friend says the Bank of England and ECB are giving nothing away, with both saying there is more to e done to bring inflation under control. One European bank even managed to slip in a rate rise ahead of Christmas – the Norges Bank pushed rates up to 4.5%, concerned about a rebound in inflation. Markets continue to respond to the dovish FOMC meeting yesterday, even with jobless claims and retail numbers both showing surprising resilience in the US economy. There’s lots more economic data today, including the December flash PMIs for Europe, the UK and US.

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Thursday 14th Decenber 2023

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A Fed that is happy to hold, and is expecting to cut three times next year. That’s the takeout from the FOMC meeting this morning. Markets have responded swiftly, with sharp moves down in the US dollar and bond yields, with the Aussie dollar making the biggest gains this morning. NAB’s Taylor Nugent says yields were already falling on the back of slower rises in producer prices, adding to the evidence that inflation is easing in the US. The Bank of England meets later today, along with the ECB. Both are expected to stay put, with the UK having much lower than expected GDP growth in October. Australia’s employment numbers are released today, after yesterday’s Seek job ads show more labour market easing.

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Wednesday 13th December 2023

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In numbers out overnight the headline US CPI rate fell a little, but no more than expected, whilst core inflation remained stuck at 4%. JBWere’s Sally Auld says it again showed the dichotomy between core goods, which fell 0.3% in the month, and services which rose 0.5% in the month. It’s not expected to change the Fed’s decision tomorrow, or the outlook for cuts in the first half of 2024, but that could change with the dots plot from the FOMC. Elsewhere, the latest ZEW survey from Europe showed a surprise lift, whilst oil continues to slide lower. In short, not a huge reaction to an unsurprising CPI, and all now rests on what’s said and forecast tomorrow.

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Tuesday 12th December 2023

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The Yen is the biggest currency move overnight, losing some of the recent gains. NAB’s Ray Attril says it comes from a Bloomberg story overnight which doused expectations that there will be a ‘surprise’ policy change next week. Otherwise, markets are largely treading water ahead of the US CPI number later today, followed quickly by the Fed later in the week, along with four other central banks.

Also on today’s podcast we look at four decades of a free floating Aussie dollar. It’s 40 years ago today that the AUD floated freely for the first time. Ray takes us through some of the highs and lows.

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Monday 11th December 2023

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The US non-farm payrolls data came in a lot higher than expected on Friday, with 200k extra jobs added last month. Wages grew a little more than expected. Not what you’d expect for an economy that is supposedly cooling. So, were the numbers too hot? Phil asks NAB’s Rodrigo Catril whether this changes assumptions around the timing of rate cuts by the Fed. He says some of the new jobs were one-offs, and the trend is still downwards, but markets have repriced their expectation for cuts in the early part of next year. There’s also discussion on Europe’s new AI laws and China’s worse than anticipation deflation.

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