Economic and market news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics published new data which show that inflation fell in the March quarter. It indicated inflation fell to 1.4 per cent in the quarter, and 7 per cent annually. This was said to be the lowest outturn since December 2021, and reduced expectations of an official interest rate rise in May.
Looking at the monthly data, there was a clear pattern of deceleration in inflation. It rose 6.3 per cent in the 12 months to March, following annual rises of 7.4 per cent in January and 6.8 per cent in February.
Within this, prices of new dwellings were said to have continued to increase, but at lower rates in recent months compared to early last year. Fuel prices fell through the year (-8.2 per cent), reflecting a year since the initial spike in oil prices when Ukraine was first invaded.
New dwellings (+11.1 per cent) was the most significant contributor to the rise in the 12 months to March, down from 13.0 per cent in February and 14.7 per cent in January.
In contrast, inflation in the United Kingdom has remained ‘sticky’. New data show that it was 10.1 per cent over the year to end March, higher than expected, increasing expectations for more official interest rate increases.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Fell 0.55 per cent this week, to close at 7320.0 points on Wednesday.
All Ordinaries: Fell 0.72 per cent in the week, closing at 7502.8 points on Wednesday.
Government Bonds
Government Bond Yields (Source: Bloomberg)
|
NAME |
COUPON |
PRICE |
YIELD |
1 DAY |
1 MONTH |
1 YEAR |
|
GTAUD2Y:GOV Australia Bond 2 Year Yield |
3.25
|
100.52 |
2.97% |
-17 |
+11 |
+63 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
2.25 |
96.35 |
3.03% |
-17 |
+7 |
+16 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
4.50 |
110.10 |
3.30% |
-14 |
+9 |
+20 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
94.97 |
3.65% |
-13 |
+7 |
+37 |
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) |
|
3.60 |
No change (4 April 2023) |
+0.25 (7 March 2023) |
0.10 |
Currencies(source:RBA)
As at the close on 26 April, the AUD/USD had fallen 1.84 per cent since last Tuesday, to 0.6609. The AUD/RMB also fell, 1.14 per cent, in the period, to 4.5739.
Commodities
The price of gold has surged 20 per cent in the past six months. This is said to be largely thanks to increased demand from central banks, who are reducing their US dollar holdings.
Venture Capital
New analysis suggests that the first quarter of 2023 might not have been as bad for venture capital funding as first thought, with $1 billion going into 111 deals.
Cardihab
CEO of Stoic investee Cardihab, Helen Souris, spoke to Talking HealthTech and Peter Birch recently about the opportunities and efficiencies that will be made possible by the new data analyticsproduct Cardihab isdeveloping, thanks to funding from the Australian Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme - Accelerating Commercialisation.
Certa Theraputics
The CEO of Stoic investee Certa Theraputics, Dr Darren Kelly, spoke with BioTechNation on The NPR Channel about the 25 years of work that has gone into its ground break approach to treating Schleroderma.
Lenexa Medical
Stoic investee Lenexa Medical announced that, in partnership with D + I, it has won one of four 2023 iF Design Awards for medical innovations in healthcare. LenexaCARE's fabric-based sensor technology revolutionising pressure injury prevention.
Jayride
Stoic investee Jayride has lifted the lid on how it uses data science in the travel industry to make travellers’ lives easier.
Morse Micro
Stoic investee Morse Micro has landed a spot on CRN's top 10 Coolest IoT hardware companies!
Property
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics are said to show that rents have not risen in inner-city Sydney and Melbourne as they have elsewhere, and that the majority cost less than pre-pandemic.
Westpac Bank has said it believes that the housing price downturn is over in Australia, with new data suggesting that the market has turned in Sydney and Melbourne.
