Australian economy set for $10b lockdown hit – KPMG

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The extended lockdowns in Australia’s two most populous states of Sydney and Victoria, which are aimed at curbing Delta covid strain contagion, could cost the country $10 billion, KPMG Global noted in its latest report.

Key findings

“KPMG estimates up to 1.5 percentage points will be stripped from growth in the September quarter based on shutdowns of 40 days across Greater Sydney and 10 days in Victoria, with the cost being borne largely by private businesses and privately employed workers.”

“The lockdown in Sydney would cost about $220 million a day while in Victoria the cost would be closer to $150 million a day. Over the assumed lockdown period, the total cost would be close to $10 billion.”

“The shift this time is that it’s going to be much more felt in the private sector, in profits and wages, than in the public sector.”

“At the individual level, there are people who are going to be worse off after lockdown who were better off before it started.”

RBA Minutes: The bank's central scenario for the economy is that condition for rate hikes will not be met before 2024

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

AUD/USD falls to near 0.7100 after slipping below 50-day EMA

AUD/USD depreciates after registering minor gains in the previous day, trading around 0.7120 during the Asian hours. The technical analysis of the daily chart shows the pair consolidating sideways within a rectangle pattern, as neither bulls nor bears gain control. The AUD/USD pair is holding a slight bearish tone however as it sits beneath both the nine-day and 50-day EMAs.

160.00: USD/JPY back near intervention territory after upbeat US jobs report

US Nonfarm Payrolls beat expectations by a wide margin in May, with 172K jobs added. The US Dollar rebounds after the release, helping USD/JPY recover from its intraday lows. Warnings from Japanese authorities continue to limit upside potential near the 160.00 threshold.

Gold targets $4,300 amid stronger Dollar

Gold faces increasing selling interest and navigates the area of three-month lows near the $4,300 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The precious metal’s decline comes as traders assess the stronger-than-expected NFP, while the bid bias in the Greenback and higher US Treasury yields also collaborate with the retracement.

Cardano hits five-year low even as Hoskinson clarifies "break" isn't an exit

Cardano (ADA) price is down 10% at press time on Friday, extending losses over 30% so far this week amid Charles Hoskinson's clarification that "break" isn't an exit.

Week ahead – Fed countdown begins amid US inflation data and geopolitical risks

Fed Chair Warsh’s first meeting approaches as key US inflation data could reshape expectations. Oil prices remain elevated as US-Iran talks continue; tariffs also return to the spotlight. ECB is expected to hike; will it be a one-off move or is July live?

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.