Stella Qiu

Australia's central bank is not concerned that inflation expectations could become de-anchored in the near-term, a top official said on Wednesday, although policymakers remained alert to such a risk.

Australia's central bank has been surprised by the strength of employment growth, a top official said on Monday, adding policymakers remained ready to respond to changes in economic outlook in either direction.

Australian consumer price inflation slowed to a 3-1/2 year low in the third quarter, though the core measure was still sticky and reinforced market wagers that the central bank won't start cutting rates until next year.

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Stella Qiu

Australia's top central banker said on Thursday it was hard to judge the inflation implications of the U.S. election for Australia at this stage, but policymakers would be watching closely and responding as necessary.

New Zealand's central bank will be under greater pressure to ease policy aggressively this month as its rate meeting calendar leaves an unusually long three-month gap until its next gathering, arguing for extra insurance against an economic slump.

Employment growth slowed in October after a strong run but the jobless rate stayed low.

Australia's central bank has found no evidence that monetary policy is more potent in the country than elsewhere given households have ways to manage interest rate risks, even though they have more debt exposed to variable rates.

Australian retail sales firmed for a third straight month in October as tax cuts flowed through to wage packets and consumers became more confident that interest rates would not increase again, although policy easing still looked distant.

Australia's economy in the third quarter grew at the slowest annual pace since the pandemic, disappointing hopes for a rebound as government spending did all of the heavy lifting and consumers remained cautious.