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The Australian bonds slumped Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) remained on hold at its monetary policy decision, revealed today, where it remained on hold, citing recovery in global economic growth. Investors now remain focused on Governor Philip Lowe’s speech, scheduled to be held later today by 09:10GMT.
Also, due on Wednesday is the country’s Q2 GDP by 01:30GMT which will provide further direction to the debt market.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, jumped nearly 2-1/2 basis points to 2.68 percent, the yield on the 15-year note climbed 2 basis points to 2.97 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded 3 basis points higher at 1.89 percent by 05:30 GMT.
The Reserve Bank (RBA) left the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 percent at its board meeting today, as widely expected. The accompanying media statement was not significantly different from the one published at the last board meeting on August 1. However, there were some subtle changes.
These subtle changes together suggest a slightly more optimistic outlook for the domestic economy from the RBA. The main changes to the statement were regarding business investment, the labor market and consumer spending in the domestic economy. The RBA appears more confident of the improvement in business investment, the outlook for jobs growth and perhaps less uncertain about the outlook for consumption. The Australian dollar remained in focus, although the wording remained the same.
Lastly, ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence edged up 0.5 percent last week, following a 3.9 percent rise the previous week. Consumers seemed less optimistic about their personal finances, though views towards economic conditions have improved.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.24 percent to 5,680.50 by 05:45 GMT, while at 05:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly AUD Strength Index remained neutral at 43.49 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
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