Market & Economic update - February 2023

File: Economic & Market Update

Duration: 01:35

Date: February 02, 2023

00:01 Economic Review February 2023

00:05 China’s plans to kickstart its economy after the pandemic shutdown have been dominating the news this month and will have worldwide implications, not the least for Australia.

00:15 As our largest trading partner, an increase in demand is likely to bring improvements in our commodity prices, exports and share prices.

00:25 Australian shares were up nearly 8% in January while US stocks climbed by about 5%.

00:33 However, markets are nervously waiting for expected increases in interest rates by major central banks this month to help curb inflation.

00:47 Australia’s inflation rate jumped by 1.9% in the December quarter to 7.8% for the year.

00:55 It was the biggest increase since 1990 and more than twice the rate of wage growth, despite the Reserve Bank’s cash rate increases during 2022.

01:05 The Australian dollar closed slightly up in January at around US70c after achieving near eight-month highs during the month.

01:14 Consumer sentiment increased for the second consecutive month, rising by 5% to 84.3 in January.

01:22 Despite these increases, sentiment remains low, remaining in the bottom 10% of observations since the mid-1970’s.