RBA Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged
After the first interest rate meeting of this year, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced that it will maintain the benchmark rate at 0.1% and the three-year government bond yield target unchanged, in line with market expectations. However, the central bank also announced that it will expand the A$100 billion asset purchase program and will buy A$5 billion of government bonds every week beginning from mid-April. It is also expected that the central bank will not raise interest rates before 2024, one year later than originally expected at the end of last year.
New Zealand Unemployment Rate Exceeds Market Expectations
Statistics New Zealand announced that the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, far better than the market expectations of 5.6% and 5.3% in the previous quarter. During the same period, the total employed population increased by 25,000 year-on-year. As for wages, the local hourly average wage unexpectedly increased by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, also much higher than the market’s original expectation of 0.3%. The previous quarter’s growth was 1.3%. The data reflects that the job market is recovering rapidly from the ongoing pandemic, providing a strong support for the New Zealand dollar.
Service relating to Over-the-counter (OTC) Gold Bullion/Silver trading is provided by MOL. OTC Gold/Silver Bullion trading carries a high degree of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. OTC Gold/Silver Bullion is not regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission (""SFC"") and therefore trading OTC Gold/Silver Bullion will not be subject to rules or regulations promulgated by the SFC. Before deciding to trade OTC Gold/Silver Bullion you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain losses in excess of your deposited fund or even more in extreme circumstances and therefore, you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading OTC Gold/Silver Bullion, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you require.