6 Quotes by Malcolm Edey

What we have been seeing is a change in the composition of growth, with businesses rather than households now the main drivers of growth in domestic spending.

Having said that, however, I should note that the current downturn in this sector is an unusually mild one compared with previous cycles.

It is not hard to appreciate that this provides a significant boost to incomes and spending. With exports representing about a fifth of GDP, each 10 percent increase in the terms of trade adds about 2 percent to the value of national income.

Even though the labor market is tight, the pickup we've seen in wages growth has been fairly modest so far. There's a noticeable pickup there, but it's not huge at this stage.

A pattern of growth that was heavily skewed towards household spending was not going to be able to continue indefinitely, and the balance-sheet adjustment now occurring in the household sector should reduce the risk of a sharper adjustment later.

The increase in business investment now underway will in due course add to the economy's productive capacity. It also offers the prospect of a pick-up in export volumes, particularly in the resources sector.