Economic and market news
In Australian economic and market news, new data show that headline inflation held steady during February, at 3.4 per cent, for a third consecutive month. Price pressures in the housing market were shown to have offset declines in pantry staples like beef, seafood, fruit and vegetables.
Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour drove hotel prices higher in Sydney and Melbourne, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, but outside those cities, prices fell as the peak summer travel season ended.
The musician’s concerts also helped lift retail spending in the month. Retail sales rose 0.3 per cent in February. However, it was reported that growth was almost stagnant once the impact of spending on clothing, merchandise, accessories and dining out related to Taylor Swifts’ seven sold-out concerts in Melbourne and Sydney was stripped out.
More generally on inflation, The Economist has reportedly analysed inflation entrenchment in ten countries. Australia tops the ranking. The results are apparently better than in November, when the newspaper last conducted the exercise. However, inflation remains sticky in the English speaking countries, with a number of factors said to explain the differences, in particular the amount of fiscal stimulus during COVID-19 which was 40 per cent larger in the Anglosphere than elsewhere. The boost to demand is apparently still visible in ‘core’ inflation data, which strips out items such as energy, and indicates underlying inflationary pressure.
Australian indices
ASX 200: Was up another 1.38 per cent over the week to close at 7887.9 points on Tuesday.
All Ordinaries: Was also up 1.36 per cent in the period, closing at 8145.8 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 |
0.25
|
94.44 |
3.70% |
-5 |
-10 |
+75 |
|
GTAUD5Y:GOV Australia Bond 5 Year Yield |
2.75 |
96.06 |
3.71% |
+10 |
-4 |
+67 |
|
GTAUD10Y:GOV Australia Bond 10 Year Yield |
3.00 |
91.62 |
4.07% |
+9 |
-7 |
+77 |
|
GTAUD15Y:GOV Australia Bond 15 Year Yield |
3.25 |
88.63 |
4.26% |
+10 |
-8 |
+63 |
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 (19 March 2024) |
+0.25 (7 November 2023) |
3.60 |
Currencies (source:RBA)
As at the close on 2 April, the AUD/USD was down 0.75 per cent over the week, closing at 0.6490 on Tuesday. The AUD/RMB was down, 0.53 per cent, in the period, closing at 4.6952 on Tuesday.
Venture Capital
Exonate
Stoic investee Exonate announced that it has been shortlisted for the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards 'Biotech Company of the Year' category.
Morse Micro
Stoic investee Morse Micro was chosen as one of the top ten ‘coolest’ IoT hardware companies as part of the 2024 CRNIoT50, for the second straight year. Its Wi-Fi HaLow chip technology has been proven to maintain a clear connection for a video call over a range of nearly 2 miles, ten times the range of traditional Wi-Fi.
Property
Stoic’s property investment partner Elanor Investors Group shared its insights into recent trends in the commercial property sector, and whether they represent long-term structural change or a short-term cyclical challenge that we’ve seen before.
Economists are suggesting that the Reserve Bank will find it difficult to cut its interest rate this year thanks to rising house prices. New data show that in March home values climbed to a fresh peak nationwide, after lifting by 0.6 per cent in the month. This was the 14th consecutive month of growth.
Related to this, the minutes of the latest Reserve Bank Board meeting are reported to have highlighted that Australia’s property market is out of balance. Supply has failed to keep pace with the rate of growth in demand from the highest population growth rate in 72 years and a pandemic-era preference for living with fewer people. This imbalance has driven up housing prices despite 13 cash rate rises.
