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RBA’s Philip Lowe to face critics at parliamentary committee grillings

The RBA's Philip Lowe can expect two relentless grillings this week in Canberra.

The RBA's Philip Lowe can expect two relentless grillings this week in Canberra. Photo: TND

Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe will face pointed questioning and no shortage of criticism at two parliamentary hearings after the central bank’s “hawkish” messaging on interest rates.

He will appear before a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday followed by a House of Representatives committee on Friday.

NAB economist Taylor Nugent said there could be “fireworks” given recent comments by government MPs questioning Dr Lowe’s tenure as governor.

“We will be looking for comments around the RBA’s balancing of the risks of sub-par growth or recession versus getting inflation back to target and what the bar is to pausing the hike cycle – how much of a slowing in activity does the RBA need to see,” he said.

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird said the decision to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.35 per cent was widely anticipated but came with a “surprisingly hawkish” signal of more rate hikes to come.

“It would be a big shock now if the RBA did not tighten policy further. Despite that, we maintain that there is a strong case to pause,” he said.

“Monetary policy works with a lag and the RBA is flying blind given they have put through an incredible amount of tightening that is yet to fully impact home borrower cashflow and by extension spending decisions.”

Eyes on jobs

ABS labour force data for January will be released on Thursday, showing unemployment and other key workforce indicators for the new year.

NAB is tipping the national unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 3.5 per cent, although it noted large seasonal swings in employment made predictions difficult.

Commonwealth Bank analysts are expecting the unemployment rate to reach 4.3 per cent by the end of the year, compared to the RBA’s prediction of 3.8 per cent.

The ABS will also release its monthly household spending figures on Tuesday after last month’s release showed an increase in spending of more than 10 per cent throughout 2022.

US share market results were mixed on Friday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped, while energy stocks pushed other indexes higher amid rising oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 169.52 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 33,869.4, while the S&P 500 gained 8.98 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 4090.4.

The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 71.46 points, or 0.61 per cent, to finish at 11,718.12.

Australian futures were steady at 7357 points.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Friday down 56.6 points, or 0.76 per cent, to a three-week low of 7433.7, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 64.7 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 7631.1.

-AAP

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