Blog post by Ben Kingsley

RBA Cash Rate April 2023: The Close Rate Call

Welcome back to Ben’s RBA and Economic Update where this month’s announcement could mark a “turning point” for Australia…

Will the Reserve Bank of Australia finally end the country’s 11-month rate hike or is the inflation genie still out of the bottle?!

Tune in to hear Ben unpack the RBA’s decision along with the latest market changes including disinflation starting to take the reins and Australia records its largest drop in retail spending ever (outside of COVID).

In international news, we see China bouncing back, the Euro Zone continues through its economic slowdown, and Ben explores exactly why global banks are failing today.

Here are the three other key themes for this month’s economic update:

US & Swiss Banking Failures – it’s time we learn more about the global banking system
The RBA cash rate decision – it was such a close call.
Property values are growing? Yes, that’s right, but is this sustainable, or will it turn out to be a dead cat bounce? More on that topic later in this update….

Quick tip! If you’re keen to forecast your cashflows through this period, use the handy MoneySTRETCH feature on our free money management platform, Moorr. Click here to sign up or log in.

And here are all the time stamps!

00:00 – What we’re diving into today…

World Economic Update Segment:

0:43 – Global Banking Failures
1:04 – How the Systems Tie Together
3:45 – Banking & Global Financial System
6:44 – US & Swiss Banking Failures
9:25 – US Banking Failures

United States

14:40 – Inflation
17:37 – Interest Rate Story
20:53 – Employment Data
21:58 – Consumer Confidence & Sentiment
22:35 – Retail Sales & Consumer Spending Data
22:57 – Business Data
24:35 – Summary

China
25:14 – Inflation
25:54 – Interest Rates
26:33 – Employment Data
27:13 – Business Data

Eurozone

27:43 – Inflation
28:34 – Interest Rates
29:28 – Retail Sales & Consumer Spending Data
30:14 – Consumer Sentiment
30:43 – Business Data

Australian Economy Segment

32:10 – The Cash Rate Announcement!
33:26 – Inflation Story
35:42 Employment Data
38:10 – Consumer Sentiment Data
39:51 – Wages Growth
40:43 – Retail Spending & Consumer Spending Data
42:04 –Business Data
42:57 – Interest Rate Story

Australian Property Market Update

44:18 – Lending Data
45:46 – Building Approvals
46:58 – CoreLogic’s Home Value Index – 3 April 2023: Property Value Results
48:41 – The Big Question
52:08 – Long-Term ‘Sustainable’ Price Growth
54:47 – Summary