Economics

China’s July new car sales data underlines the growing importance of so-called New Energy Vehicles in supporting total car sales across the country at levels higher than they would otherwise be.

Not much of a surprise that the National Australia Bank’s July business survey has revealed a sharp slide in confidence and conditions, thanks to the continued lockdowns around the country.

Another so-so monthly trade report from China – this time for the month of July – saw another solid rise in exports and imports but a small dip in the size of the surplus.

While there was a trio of records for Australia’s trade account in Thursday’s July trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the continued Sydney lockdown is biting into the job market.

August 18 looms as the next big date for the NZ economy with the country’s central bank now expected to reveal plans for a rate hike after unemployment fell sharply in the June quarter.

Today’s monetary policy meeting of the Reserve Bank would normally have been a low-key event, but the return of Covid and the associated lockdowns has changed all that.

Despite the expected CPI surge in the June quarter to an annual rate of 3.8%, the extended Sydney lockdown has led one senior economist to drastically slash his forecast for the next 3 months.

It won’t be a case of ‘rate rise looms’ if the forecast surge in the Consumer Price Index for the June quarter and 2020-21 financial year happens in today’s ABS data release.

Falling retail sales and the new lockdowns across NSW, Victoria and South Australia have seen economists downgrade their forecasts for September economic growth to negative readings.

According to the official body responsible for such declarations, America’s Covid recession lasted just two months from February to April 2020, making it the shortest on record.

Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell made his second appearance before the US Congress on Thursday but it was one of his predecessors who had a bigger impact late in the day.

It looks like we’ve seen the best of the jobs data for a while as the growing spread of the Delta variant of Covid leads to widespread lockdowns around the country.

One down, another to go tonight in the campaign by Federal Reserve chair, Jay Powell to assure Congress and markets that the current spurt in inflation won’t be long-term.

The economic data coming out of China continues to be almost impossible to get a bead on as imports and exports were stronger than forecast in June and the country reported another huge surplus.

NAB economists are confident business conditions will be able to ride out the current surge in delta Covid variants but remain on the lookout for any signs of damage to the economy.

The Chinese government has blinked and moved to try and help the slowing economy after a year of boasting how well the country was recovering from the pandemic.

Tougher lockdowns in cities from Sydney to Seoul due to the Delta variant spreading, along with further signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, ravaged Asian markets on Friday.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe has singled out Australia’s high levels of immigration as playing a part in keeping a lid on wage rises – an observation that won’t go unnoticed.