Macro Musing Live | The rate outlook: Absolutely lower, but relatively higher

Monday, November 11, 2024, 12:00 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (New South Wales) 

With the easing cycle well underway across the globe, Australia stands out for not yet having cut its cash rate. The RBA's focus on employment outcomes led to a lower peak for the cash rate but is resulting in a slower return to the inflation target. As a result, rate cuts are not only coming later, but they will also be slower. While Australia has maintained lower rates than peer economies for the past couple of years, by mid-2025, even with RBA cuts, Australian short-term rates will likely be higher than those of other economies.

This complex outlook raises many questions. What will it take for the RBA to make cuts? How low will Australian and global rates go? And how will assets respond to higher domestic interest rates compared to offshore markets?

Note: As per accreditation guidelines, you must attend at least 80% of the presentation to be eligible for a CPD certificate. As part of your registration, you are taken to consent to Challenger & Fidante and our related entities' use of your personal information to send you further information about Challenger and Fidante's products and services. If, at any time, you no longer want to receive marketing emails, you can unsubscribe by using the link in the email. For further information regarding our handling of your personal information, please see our privacy policy available at www.fidante.com/privacy-policy and www.challenger.com.au/privacy.

Speaker:

Jonathan Kearns - Chief Economist and Head of Regulatory Affairs, Challenger

Jonathan Kearns is Chief Economist and Head of Regulatory Affairs at Challenger, where he also sits on the investment committee.

He worked for 28 years at the Reserve Bank of Australia, occupying a wide range of senior roles, including Department Head for Domestic Markets Department, Financial Stability Department, Economic Analysis Department and Economic Research Department. He also led the Bank's work on climate change across four departments.

Jonathan also worked at the Bank of International Settlements in Basel. He has published research in the fields of international finance and macroeconomics. He has a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from the Australian National University.

Register here