September 2016 Economic Update with Shane Oliver

With the RBA following the global trend of record‐low interest rates, and with the expectation that it will cut rates again this year, the question turns to what other levers it has available to move the stubbornly low inflation rate. To compound the issue, it also has to contend with lower prices arising from increased competition among domestic retailers. On the international front, another rate hike in the US this year is around a 50/50 proposition with analysts, due to further tightening in the job market. As the reality of autonomy outside the EU becomes clear to the UK public, odds have shortened that it will eventually not leave the EU. In the meantime, companies with a European base in the UK remain uncertain about their long‐term prospects for free trade within the region.