Week To Be Dominated By RBA And Labour Market Data

The focus of the week in Australia is likely to be RBA commentary and the September labour force report.

• On Tuesday, RBA Deputy Governor Bullock is scheduled to speak at the Australian Finance Industry Association annual conference at 11.05AEDT. This will be followed by the minutes from the October 4 RBA meeting. Given the surprise 25bp move, the minutes could be more on the dovish side and likely to be studied for more detail on the Board’s reasoning.
• The MI/Westpac leading indicator for September is published on Wednesday. August marked the third consecutive fall and brought the 6-month annualised growth rate into negative territory for the first time since January. Further monetary tightening and the deteriorating global outlook are likely to weigh on the index again this month.
• September employment data is released on Thursday. Another moderate gain of 25k is expected after 33.5k last month, which should keep the unemployment rate steady at 3.5%. A result around this mark is unlikely to change the RBA’s 25bp per meeting stance.

Source: MNI - Market News, ABS