Brett Careedy

Australian GDP growth was slightly below estimates in Q3 supported by a pick-up in domestic demand, while inventory drawdowns and net exports detracted. Australian GDP rose by +0.4% in the September quarter in seasonally adjusted chain volume measures, according to the ABS today. The consensus forecast had been for a +0.7% increase. June quarter GDP was revised up from +0.6% to +0.7%, with annual GDP growth measured at +2.1%, the highest growth rate since 2023. In nominal terms, GDP rose by...

Australian bond yields have risen after the first full monthly CPI data release delivered a significant upside surprise in the year to the end of October.  The Australian dollar is likely to strengthen as the market is all but ruling out any further rate cuts. Annual headline CPI rose by +3.8% to the end of October, according to the ABS today. This was up from +3.2% yoy at the end of September. The market had been expecting an increase of +3.6%. The trimmed mean core CPI measure rose by +3.3%...

Global equities struggled to find a firm footing last week amid ongoing signs of tightening market liquidity. Growth asset prices saw profit-taking despite well-received Nvidia earnings, and the bitcoin price fell below US$90,000 for the first time since April. Nvidia reported fiscal third-quarter results that beat expectations for sales and earnings, and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. CEO Jensen Huang sounded confident, rejecting talk of an AI bubble and saying Nvidia...