Australia: Surprise rating upgrade by S&P – TDS

Analysts at TD Securities note that S&P unexpectedly upgraded Australia’s AAA/negative rating on Australia to AAA/stable.

Key Quotes

“The surge in PAYE and company tax receipts in the past year has put the budget balance in a much healthier situation compared with when S&P originally downgraded its outlook in July 2016. While it is not new news that Australia's fiscal position is returning to surplus in the early 2020s, and wage growth assumptions may still be on the optimistic side, growth and employment have been sufficiently strong to generate lower expenditure and higher tax receipts than thought two years ago.”