26 Quotes by Stephen Koukoulas

Australia's current account is still at an uncomfortable level. We haven't yet seen the big pickup in exports we need to generate a narrowing in the current account.

A big increase could certainly get the Reserve Bank a little nervous. They'd be very close to pulling the trigger, raising the rate.

The news should provide support for the Australian dollar with a hint that the trade balance will continue to narrow.

The Australian dollar should be doing better in the short term because the rate differential is still supportive.

If RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard needed more information to stop hiking interest rates, the house-building consents data today fit the bill.

If you want sustained growth you need business investment to help drive it. The growth report combined with the election victory is good news: investors for years have been crying out for reform and have been hoping the Japanese economy can sustain growth.

Clearly they are seeing inflationary risks coming through, and they feel obliged to ensure that inflationary pressures don't build further some time down the track.

Housing construction is likely to be weak into the first half of 2006 and possibly beyond. It works against the tightening bias of the Reserve Bank.

For the New Zealand dollar it looks like one-way traffic. The scenario for cutting rates is now realistic, if not urgent.