From National Australia Bank economics (in brief):
Tuesday (11.30am Sydney time, 0030GMT) - RBA Board Minutes from November
- Unlikely to add further light given the RBA's recent Statement on Monetary Policy
- The Statement made no material change to the RBA forecasts of GDP or inflation
Tuesday (7.15pm Sydney time ... 0815GMT) - Speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Lowe
- Title is 'Buffers and Options'
- Lowe's post board meeting statement contained very few changes apart from slightly more concern being expressed around the housing market - where the term "briskly" was used when describing recent house price appreciation
- The title 'Buffers and Options' implies some discussion on the effectiveness of low interest rates and the outlook for inflation
Wage Price Index on Wednesday (11.30am Sydney time, 0030GMT)
- NAB forecasting +0.5% in the September quarter
- Annual growth down from 2.1% to 2.0%
Thursday (11.30am Sydney time, 0030GMT) Labour Force data for October
- Trend employment growth has slowed to just 3.9k a month which is well below the 15k a month needed to keep the unemployment rate from rising
- Recent jobs growth has been driven by part-time employment and has helped to contribute to elevated underemployment
- Hints that sampling issues may also be behind some of the slowdown
- This month's employment data will be important in providing clarity over the labour market, and the extent to which momentum may have slowed
- NAB expects employment to rise 20k, unemployment rate steady at 5.6%
