Economic and market news
In Australian economic news, new data show that a record 67.1 per cent of the population participated in the labour force in July.
The data show the number of unemployed growing by 24,000 and employed by around 58,000. This meant the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 per cent in July. It was noted that although the unemployment rate has edged up slightly the past two months, and is now at the highest level since November 2021, it is 1.0 percentage point lower than March 2020. The number of people who are unemployed also remains around 70,000 people below the pre-pandemic level.
In overseas news, new data show that inflation decelerated again in the United States during July. The consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent in the month, driven by high housing costs. However, the annual rate dipped to 2.9 per cent, down from 3 per cent in the previous month, and is now running at its lowest rate since March 2021 This outturn was said to open the door to the first cut in official interest rates when policymakers meet in September.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut its interest rate for the first time since 2020, and markets are expecting more and potentially sizable reductions. The central bank indicated in its statement after the decision that the economy is slowing faster than first thought. It had forecast as recently as May that the easing in policy would not start until well into 2025.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Regained another 2.18 per cent over the week to close at 7997.7 points on Tuesday.
All Ordinaries: Also rose, 2.06 per cent in the period to close at 8207.6 points on Tuesday.
Government Bonds
Government Bond Yields (Source: Bloomberg)
|
NAME |
COUPON |
PRICE |
YIELD |
1 DAY |
1 MONTH |
1 YEAR |
|
GTAUD2Y:GOV Australia Bond 2 Year Yield |
4.25
|
100.86 |
3.70% |
+3 |
-41 |
-21 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
3.25 |
98.41 |
3.62% |
+4 |
-38 |
-34 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
3.75 |
98.40 |
3.95% |
+3 |
-34 |
-28 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
89.83 |
4.16% |
+3 |
-32 |
-30 |
Reserve Bank of Australia (Source:RBA)
|
RBA CASH RATE TARGET (RBATCTR:IND) CURRENT (per cent) |
MOST RECENT DECISION (percentage points) |
MOST RECENT CHANGE (percentage points) |
1 YEAR PRIOR (per cent) |
|
4.35 |
+0 (6 August 2024) |
+0.25 (7 November 2023) |
4.10 |
Currencies(Source:RBA)
As at the close on 20 August the AUD/USD had rose another 1.90 per cent over the week, closing at 0.6719 on Tuesday. The AUD/RMB had also risen, 1.51 per cent, in the period, closing at 4.8021 on Tuesday.
Venture Capital
Morse Micro
Stoic investee Morse Micro and its partner Milesight IoT announced the arrival of Wi-Fi HaLow variants of the X1 Sensing Camera, VS135 Ultra ToF People Counter, and the HL31 Wi-Fi HaLow Gateway. This new range can transmit pictures and other data at higher speeds with low power consumption thanks to the Wi-Fi HaLow technology.
Property
In property this week, the slight pickup in clearance rates continued this week. The national auction clearance rate edged up to 70.7 per cent from 70.4 per cent a week ago.
At 1,995, the auction volumes were the highest since the last week of June (2,030), and up 5.5 per cent week-on-week. The rise in the clearance rate was mostly driven by a stronger Sydney market, which saw 74.6 per cent of property auctions be successful, up from 68.0 per cent last week.
