RBA remains prepared to ease further if needed – TD Securities

Analysts at TD Securities point out that the RBA's Statement on Monetary Policy for August was released alongside Governor Lowe's semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the House Economics Committee.

Key Quotes

“Unsurprisingly, the overall message was consistent between the two efforts: The RBA remains prepared to ease further if needed, but policymakers "see signs the economy may have reached a gentle turning point." Growth forecasts for end-2019 were shaved slightly to 2.4% from 2.6% in the May edition, largely as we expected. Further out, however, the RBA has turned more optimistic.”

“Growth estimates for Q4-2020 and Q2-2021 were edged up 0.1ppts and 0.2 ppts, respectively. The initial forecast for the end-2021 landed at a downright robust 3.1%. Inflation forecasts have been taken lower yet again, however, with slight downgrades to their trimmed mean estimates across the board.”