The following are the highlights of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy meeting minutes in September:
- There is a need to balance the risk of rising household debt and lower inflation.
- The rise in the Australian dollar was driven by a decline in the US dollar, which could weigh on domestic growth and inflation.
- A continued rise in the Australian dollar could slow growth and inflation.
- The economy grew below trend in 2016/2017 but most recent data were positive.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting started with discussing labor market conditions that continue to improve.
- Leading indicators suggests that jobs are likely to continue to pick up.
- Job growth supports increased household incomes and increased spending, but rising debt is a real risk.
- There is still spare capacity in the labor market and wage growth is expected to remain low for some time.
- There are clear signs of housing market eased in Sydney and less so in Melbourne.
- Investment outlook in the non-mining sector improved as infrastructure spending was strong.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has discussed China's impact on iron ore and prices are expected to fall as supply increases.
- China's growth came stronger than expected but the rise in debt remains a threat.