Obviously in the near term, week-to-week, month-to-month it’s impossible to predict currencies, but over any medium-term period – you can at least, in our view, make some informed judgments around what the shape of the probability distribution of possible outcomes looks like. Show More
Interestingly this week we saw some new information coming out of China where they've stopped Australian imports of coal going into the Dalian port. We've known about the slowdown in processing of coal, particularly Australian coal in a number of other ports, so this new information was interesting and certainly... Show More
Gold prices finished 2018 on a tear, rallying well over USD $100oz from its mid August lows to close out the year at USD $1281.65oz (London Fix on 31/12/18). The metal moved higher in the first trading days of 2019, kissing USD $1300oz, though a strong payrolls report, and a... Show More
The Australian dollar / US dollar cross was something of a one-way trade in 2018. After appreciating to slightly above US$0.80 in January, the exchange rate deteriorated steadily for the remainder of the year. On 2 January 2019, the rate finally breached the US$0.70 level. In this paper we examine... Show More
The Australian Dollar (AUD) has fallen a fair way against the US dollar. It is down by 7% YTD, and 11% from its peak in January 2018. However, could it have seen it's low? Show More
The US Federal Reserve (the Fed) lifted interest rates to 2.25% as was widely expected in September and commented that monetary policy is no longer ‘accommodative’. Show More
The Aussie dollar’s dip under 71 cents this week provided great fodder for newswires, as it printed lows since February 2016. But the more telling story is probably how little time it spent at such lows, and that it is higher over the week, close to 72 cents. Show More
The AUD dropped harder and faster than other Asian currencies on Friday reinforcing its position as a liquid and flexible proxy for the Asia region. Right now the Australian economy is performing at its best in years which should be good news for the AUD, but the currency is sending... Show More
The last week has seen global risk appetite improve, although the AUD has struggled to capitalise and any rallies have proved fleeting. We summarise key events in the market this week in the transcript and video below. Show More
In the press, large movements in the Australian dollar are often erroneously presented in the press as a vote of confidence in Australia as a nation or the management (or mismanagement) of our elected leaders. A falling Australian dollar is often viewed as a negative event, raising the cost of... Show More
For the last two calendar years, the Australian dollar has defied our expectations for weakness. But after hitting $US0.81 in January it’s been trending down as US interest rates fell below the Australian cash rate, the threat of a US-driven trade war increased and it recently broke below a short-term... Show More
ABS data recently showed that global investing flows have overtaken those for local investing. With the ASX lagging global peers for the last decade, it’s not hard to see why. But is the grass really greener out there? And if so, what are the risks and where is the value?... Show More
Asian markets performed well in the last year. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index (AUD) is up 14% in FY18, outperforming the ASX 200 by approximately 5%. Looking forward to FY19, there are 5 critical questions that will determine the path of equity markets in Asia: Show More
2018 has been a fascinating year so far with many different cross-currents running through markets. We have seen central banks hiking, just as Governments look to expand fiscally. At the same time, the big economic powerhouses go head-to-head on trade. Where does this all lead us? Below we walk through... Show More
The 2018-19 Budget will be the last before the next election (due by May 2019) and so had to provide pre-election goodies but in a way that keeps the return to surplus on track. Thanks to an improvement in the budget position since the Mid-Year review, of around $7bn per... Show More
While the global economy is seeing its fastest growth in years and the US Federal Reserve has increased rates five times since December 2015 and is on track for more hikes this year, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has now left interest rates on hold for a record 21... Show More
Twenty-six years of uninterrupted economic expansion. Australia’s recent performance is now unmatched in history. While a handful of factors have been key to this outcome, without doubt, the floating of the Australian dollar in December 1983 was one of the most critical. According to former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)... Show More
In January, market commentary was almost universally bullish. Ray Dalio, the billionaire US Hedge Fund Manager told the audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos that those holding cash were “going to feel pretty stupid.” One of the few voices urging caution was that of Chris Watling, CEO and... Show More
One month into 2018 and the AUD has punched above 80 US cents and is looking pretty perky. It is trading around its highs against the beleaguered USD since 2014. So, why is it up here again? Can it last? Is it time to sell? Or strap in for a... Show More
Yet again another quarter and another CPI miss. The RBA has no reason to move rates on the back of these soft numbers. Despite oil prices rallying throughout the quarter and the global economy and risk in general being bid to the moon, we are still yet to see the... Show More