A major surprise from the RBA minutes released today is that it no longer predicts the next rate move as a increase. Back in the April and May meeting minutes, the central bank noted that “in the current circumstances, members agreed that it was more likely that the next move in the cash rate would be up, rather than down.” But such reference is taken out from the June minutes. It could be a sign that RBA is less confidence that the next move is a rate hike.
While that’s a notable change, it shouldn’t be taken too seriously for the time being. The minutes were on the meeting held on June 5. On June 13, last Wednesday, RBA Governor Philip Lowe reiterated in a speech that “the national accounts provided confirmation that the Australian economy is moving in the right direction … If this continues to be the case, it is likely that the next move in interest rates will be up, not down.”
Otherwise, the minutes revealed nothing special. The main factor behind RBA’s neutral stance is sluggish wage growth. It reiterated that the unemployment rate steadied at 5.5%. Ratio of job vacancies to the number of unemployed workers had remained well below levels seen a decade earlier. Both suggested that “spare capacity remained in the labour market.” And, “wages had continued to grow at a low and stable rate”.
