off-the-wire

Australia c.bank surprised by rapid recovery in population growth -official

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
SYDNEY, May 3 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank said on Wednesday that a rapid recovery in population growth was a big surprise for the bank's economic forecasts, pushing up rents and leading to an earlier-than-expected stabilisation in housing prices after months of losses. Speaking at an event in Perth, Marion Kohler, the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) head of economic analysis, said the drag on consumption from the housing downturn would be smaller than previously forecasted, now that prices have steadied in recent months.


"The faster recovery in the population could turn out to have unanticipated or more pervasive effects," said Kohler, adding other macroeconomic indicators had been broadly as expected in the past three to six months.


The RBA is set to unveil its latest economic forecasts on Friday, after shocking markets by raising interest rates to a 11-year high of 3.85% earlier this week.


The RBA was confident that goods price inflation would moderate this year, Kohler said, but it expected the tight labour market and demand for services to fuel domestic inflationary pressures.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Jamie Freed)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.