Australia’s 10-year Treasury yields drop to 14-week low after RBA’s rate hike

Australian bond markets cheer the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) Interest Rate Decision while refreshing the 3.5-month low during early Tuesday morning in Europe. That said, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields slump to 3.00%, the lowest levels since April 27 by press time.

The RBA matched the market’s expectations of announcing 50 basis points (bps) rate hike, the fourth in 2022, while inflating the benchmark rate to 1.85%. It’s worth noting, however, that the indecision over the next move of the Aussie central bank, amid recession fears and as the rate approaches the policymakers’ “neutral rate of 2.5%”, appear to drown the Aussie treasury yields. The same could be linked to the RBA Statement that says that the central bank is not on the pre-set path in normalizing rates.

Earlier in the day, firmer prints of the Australia Building Permits for June contrasted with the downbeat Aussie Home Loans and Investment Lending for Homes for the said month to weigh on the Australian markets. That said, the ASX 200 printed mild losses around 6,983 level at the latest, down 0.20% by the press time.

It’s worth noting that US House Secretary Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and the likely hardships for Chinese chipmakers due to the American consideration of limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment also weigh on the market sentiment and the Aussie treasury yields. On the same line could be the news from a Chinese media report suggesting the dragon nation’s readiness for a military drill in Bohai, South China Sea. Furthermore, Bloomberg’s piece signaling no hard boundaries for Beijing’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also appears to weigh on the market’s risk appetite. The news quotes people familiar with the matter as said, “China's top leaders told government officials last week that this year's economic growth target of "around 5.5%" should serve as guidance rather than a hard target that must be hit.”

On a broader front, the recently disappointing US PMIs tracked the last week’s US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to portray economic fears. Also weighing on the mood could be Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s indirect signals that the hawks are running out of steam.

Moving on, Friday’s RBA Rate Statement will be crucial as traders remain unconvinced of the Aussie central bank’s latest moves. Additionally, monthly prints of the US employment data, up for publishing on Friday, will also be crucial to watch for clear directions.