RBA's Bullock to face questions as economists look for clues on rates
It's less about data and more about dialogue for the economy this week.
The data flow dries up to a trickle this week, with most economists turning their attention to two public appearances from the Reserve Bank’s top officials and the central bank’s meeting minutes from its November rate decision.
Here’s what you need to know about the key economic data releases this week.
New numbers
The data: Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator, September, Australian Bureau of Statistics
When: Wednesday 20 November 2024
The data: National accounts (state accounts) 2023-24
When: Wednesday 20 November 2024
Reporter's view: The focus will be gross state product in the states and territories. In the last release, for 2022-23, all states and territories except for the Northern Territory recorded growth. The top performer was the Australian Capital Territory, at 4.3%, with South Australia, 3.8%, and NSW, 3.7%, the next best. The results over the past few years have been thrown about by the pandemic, with each area’s different lockdown policies and the unwinding of these different restrictions playing into the varied recoveries. Economists have increasingly noted that those in different parts of Australia have had differing experiences during the latest cost-of-living crisis, with Victoria and NSW among those bearing the brunt of the slowdown.
The data: Purchasing managers' indexes, November, S&P Global and Judo Bank
When: Friday 22 November 2024
Reports
The document: Reserve Bank of Australia November board meeting minutes
When: Tuesday 19 November 2024
What to expect: The RBA kept rates on hold at 4.35% when it met on 5 November and there has since been additional data released plus the now-standard post-decision press conference, which means these minutes are already an artefact of the past. However, they will be looked at closely for linguistic changes that may provide deeper clues into the board’s thinking at the time and the direction of the discussion.
