MS: RBA behind curve, Aussie to tank

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From Morgan Stanley via Forexlive:

We think the RBA may be falling behind the curve, and that the AUD remains overvalued, given the large decline in Australia’s terms of trade over the past few years.

Furthermore, given the rebalancing currently occurring in China – with the government moving away from manufacturing/export dependence and toward a more balanced growth strategy involving domestic demand – China’s import basket is likely to continue shifting away from the industrial metals that Australia exports.

With terms of trade skewed to the downside, there is likely to be further pressure on Australian corporate profitability, income, and wages too. This is likely to prompt the RBA into action later this year; we forecast another 50bps of easing, shrinking the yield differential between Australia and the rest of world – which we believe will help spur further AUD weakness.

MS now sees AUD at 69 cents be year end.

I nod sagely.

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.