The economy is grinding to a halt but Michele Bullock is holding firm
The economy is weaker than the RBA was forecasting, but Michele Bullock already wanted rate watchers to look at the bigger picture.
Michele Bullock had a message for interest rate obsessives this morning: keep calm and carry on. But about an hour after the RBA governor issued her plea for everyone to take a deep breath during Senate estimates on Wednesday, fresh data showing the economy grew just 0.1% in the March quarter set alarm bells ringing again.
The data suggests the economy is in its worst state in years. The annual growth rate is its worst since the 1990s, excluding the pandemic.
Commentators have been quick to point out this marks a fifth consecutive decline for the economy on a per capita basis, meaning the nation continues to be in “per capita recession”.
Bullock may look upon these figures in a different way than headlines suggest, though. She told estimates that she doesn’t find the description of a “per capita recession” particularly helpful. And despite the negativity over the sluggish economy and fair concerns about future growth, it mightn’t be all bad news for mortgage holders wanting a rate cut.
