Australia Westpac leading index dropped from 0.56% to 0.40% in June, indicating economic slowdown later in the year, but momentum is still above trend in the near term.
Westpac currently expects growth to slow from 4% in 2022 to 2% in 2023, but that is highly dependent on the profile of RBA’s tightening cycle.
Westpac expects RBA to opt for a fourth successive rate hike on August 2, and a third success time by 50bps. The current cycle is the first time cash rate has been lifted by 50bps or higher since 1990.
