Explore the world.

Assess underlying market conditions and fundamentals in the world's major economies.

World
Global
Americas
United States
Canada
Mexico
Europe
Euro Area
United Kingdom
Asia Pacific
China
Japan
Australia

Stay ahead.

Follow the biggest stories in markets and economics in real time.

Analysis
Blog
Views
Calendar

Subscribe

Get insight into the latest trends and developments in global currency markets with breaking news updates and research reports delivered right to your inbox.

After signing up, you will receive regular newsletters from Corpay, and may unsubscribe at any time. View Corpay’s Privacy Policy

Market Musing, Asia Pacific

19 Feb 2025

AUD/NZD: RBNZ downshift continues

The cavalier Reserve Bank of New Zealand continues to spread its ‘dovish’ wings. The RBNZ announced another 50bp interest rate cut today, the third straight meeting it delivered an outsized reduction. The move lowers the Official Cash Rate to 3.75%, after being as high as 5.5% last-July. As shown, outside of the GFC, the 175bps worth of rate cuts delivered by the RBNZ over the past 7 months has been the most abrupt policy U-turn in several decades (chart 1). The rapid-fire reduction in the level of the RBNZ OCR follows the very abrupt hiking cycle that was unleashed on...

Read More Read More
18 Feb 2025

RBA: Gradual ‘relief’ cycle kicks off

After delivering a string of rate hikes over 2022/23 and holding steady since November 2023 as it battled against inflation the RBA announced a bit of interest rate ‘relief’ at today’s meeting. The RBA cut the official cash rate by 25bps, lowering it to 4.1%. This was largely expected with it being ~90% priced in before the meeting, and with 30 of 34 economists surveyed forecasting it. The move will provide some income support for indebted mortgage holders and interest rate sensitive businesses. But it isn’t a large jolt. On our figuring, a 0.25% reduction lowers the monthly repayment on...

Read More Read More
10 Dec 2024

RBA: Moving closer to rate cuts

As widely anticipated the RBA held interest rates steady at 4.35% once again at today’s meeting, the final one for 2024. This is where policy has been since November 2023. However, some adjustments to the RBA’s guidance do suggest the door to interest rate relief starting to be delivered in H1 2025 has opened a bit further. Prior rhetoric that the Board “is not ruling anything in or out” has been jettisoned, as was the comment that policy “will need to be sufficiently restrictive” until there is confidence inflation is heading sustainably towards target. Instead, the RBA notes that while...

Read More Read More
04 Dec 2024

AUD: Temporary GDP hammer blow?

The now dated Q3 Australian GDP has exerted downward pressure on the AUD (now ~$0.6415) with the already sluggish underlying growth picture undershooting analysts forecasts. This won’t surprise businesses at the coalface, particularly those in goods-producing and interest rate sensitive industries, with the GDP figures once again showing that higher mortgage rates and elevated prices are constraining private sector activity. The Australian economy expanded by 0.3% in Q3. As a result, annual growth decelerated to just 0.8%pa. Outside of the COVID lockdowns this is the slowest annual pace since the early-90’s recession. The detail in the national accounts can be...

Read More Read More
26 Nov 2024

AUD/NZD: RBNZ stuck in reverse

In its final meeting of 2024 the RBNZ delivered another outsized rate cut with today’s 50bp reduction lowering the Official Cash Rate to 4.25%. Interest rates had peaked at 5.50% in NZ, but since turning course in August the RBNZ has delivered 125bps worth of easing in quick time as it looks to move settings out of the very ‘restrictive’ territory they were in. As a result, the RBNZ’s OCR is now below the RBA’s cash rate (now 4.35%) for the first time since mid-2013. And the gap should continue to widen, in our view, with the RBNZ set to...

Read More Read More

About

Contact

Data and information on this website is provided “as is” and for informational purposes only. Information on the website does not bind Corpay in any way; nor is it not intended as advice, a recommendation or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial products. Data and other information are not warranted as to completeness or accuracy and are subject to change without notice. All charts or graphs are from publicly available sources, or our proprietary data. Nothing in this material should be construed as investment, financial, tax, legal, accounting, regulatory or other advice or as creating a fiduciary relationship. Corpay disclaims any responsibility or liability to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on our use of the data in any way. You should contact your Corpay sales representative for clarification on the range of financial instruments available in your jurisdiction. Copyright Cambridge Mercantile Corp. 2022.