Red, white and Bullock
The RBA governor wouldn't be drawn on what the US election result might mean for Australia's economy. But it's clear there will be an impact — for better or for worse.
Public servants loathe being drawn into public political debates. But it was impossible for Michele Bullock to avoid questions about the US election on Tuesday afternoon as Americans prepared to head to the polls to decide between Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
“I think the best way to think about what's going on in the United States [is that] the United States people are going to make a choice,” the Reserve Bank governor said at the post monetary policy press conference in Sydney.
“Once we find out what that is and what [are] the policies of that particular person … then we can make decisions about what that might imply for the world economy.
“But I think it's premature to actually do it ahead of that.”
Bullock, who had just revealed rates would be kept on hold at 4.35%, also published new forecasts suggesting inflation is coming down slightly faster than previously thought but also revealing the economy is weaker than expected.
