Rear View Mirror Says Employment Is Fine; Just Don’t Look Ahead!

We are in a phony war at the moment, as the real effects of the Gulf War, and the spike in fuel prices are yet to hit the rear-facing data as reported by the ABS and others. The forward-looking confidence data has crashed of course, with consumer sentiment down as reported by the MI and Westpac survey, 12.5% to 80.1 points in April as near-term expectations dropped back to 2022–23 lows that were last seen during the post-Covid “cost of living” crisis. And Australia’s inflation remains too high and interest rates will need to be set at a level consistent […]