Here are the key things you need to know before you leave work today.
TODAY'S MORTGAGE RATE CHANGES
No changes today.
TODAY'S DEPOSIT RATE CHANGES
NZCU Baywide cut term deposit rates for all terms from 1 month to two years. They were all small reductions.
GAINS STILL FLOWING
All equity markets in our general time zone are higher today (including Shanghai), although some gains are modest. This follows good rises on Wall Street and startling rises on European bourses.
SURPRISE FALL
Property prices in Australia are falling, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Overall they fell -0.2% in the March quarter, whereas markets were expecting a +0.8% gain. This was the first fall since Q3-2012. Mostly this is a fall in the value of apartments, which showed some interesting trends. Melbourne fell -1.3%, Sydney was down -0.6%, Perth was -1.1% lower as was Canberra. Adelaide dropped -0.4%. Brisbane bucked that trend, rising +0.7%.
LOW INFLATION, NO RATE CUT
The Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes of its last (no change at 1.75%) meeting and it was a fairly upbeat look at their economy. It downplayed the likelihood on any rate cuts there in the immediate future despite continuing low inflation.
ANOTHER MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
Planning for $700 mln worth of improvements to Auckland's Northern Motorway has started. Preliminary designs and preparations for consenting have begun with construction scheduled to start in 2018. It will provide a direct motorway to motorway connection between SH1 and SH18, plus an alternative travel route between Northland and Auckland’s North Shore. It will enable people in the North to access the airport without going through the CBD. The first step is worth $100 mln. (A list of all major Auckland projects is here.)
SWAP RATES INCH UP
Local swap rates are up only +1 or +2 bps today, ignoring the sharp rises we saw on wall Street earlier today. NZ swap rates are here. The 90-day bank bill rate also put back +1 bp, now at 2.34%.
NZ DOLLAR FIRMS
The local currency is marginally higher than this time yesterday. Is now at 71.2 USc, at 95.2 AUc, and 62.8 euro cents. The TWI-5 is now just under 74.1. Check our real-time charts here.
You can now see an animation of this chart. Click on it, or click here.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.