A fireside chat starring a top Reserve Bank of Australia official will be closely watched as mortgage holders look for more signs confirming another interest rate cut.
RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser will speak at an economic forum hosted by investment bank Barrenjoey on Thursday.
The event comes less than 24 hours after the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of inflation, the trimmed mean, eased to 2.7 per cent in the June quarter.
The result was slightly softer than economists had expected and was widely interpreted as consistent with the RBA board lowering the cash rate to 3.6 per cent at its next meeting in August.
Money markets are fully pricing in a 25 basis point cut and have upped the odds of a back-to-back cut in September to about 40 per cent, said Chief CommSec economist Ryan Felsman.
But Mr Hauser could “offer some push-back about the need for rapid easing” at the Barrenjoey event in Sydney.
The RBA stunned analysts by leaving rates on hold in July, with governor Michele Bullock telling an event last week that the board preferred a “measured and gradual” approach to easing interest rates.
While less pivotal than inflation or jobs data, retail sales figures released by the ABS on Thursday will provide an update on the vitality of the Australian consumer.
The recovery in household spending has been softer than the RBA had expected, the board said in minutes from its last meeting.
But sales are expected to rebound to the highest level since the beginning of 2024, following a run of softer months.
The retail print is the last the bureau will produce before it switches over to a more comprehensive measure of consumption, the monthly household spending indicator.
As the government prepares for an economic roundtable aimed at fixing Australia’s productivity woes, fault lines have opened up between businesses and unions on artificial intelligence.
Peak union body the ACTU has called for tougher regulations to ensure AI does not lead to job losses, while business groups have warned against regulation that could stifle adoption of the technology.
Independent MP Zali Steggall has called for the government to appoint a special envoy for AI and the future of work to drive adoption of the technology while addressing growing public distrust.
“I am concerned it’s going to be unions trying to put a lid on it,” Ms Steggall told AAP.
“Look, I am supportive of guardrails. It has to be done safely, but to suggest that you can put the genie back in the bottle is unrealistic.”
The former Winter Olympian on Thursday launched her economic plan to re-energise the economy while speeding the transition to net zero, by encouraging clean energy investment and reducing the cost of housing.