Key events ahead - Westpac

FXStreet (Guatemala) - Analysts at Westpac noted the key events ahead.

Key Quotes:

"This week’s data highlight in Australia is Q3 wages (11:30am Syd/8:30am Sing/HK). In its Nov minutes, the RBA said “low growth of wages pointed to a degree of spare capacity in the economy.” Q2 wages growth was 2.3% y/y, the slowest pace since the series began in 1998 (the average in this time is 3.5%). The series generally doesn’t surprise: the median forecast on Bloomberg for the past 4 quarters has been 0.6% q/q, with outcomes of 0.6% on 3 occasions, 0.5% on the other. Naturally consensus is again 0.6% q/q, keeping the annual rate at 2.3%. A modest downside surprise wouldn’t be a game-changer for the RBA which has already made clear that inflation is not a barrier to another rate cut; instead their focus is on the growth outlook.

China releases Oct property prices, with the regional calendar otherwise light. The US data calendar is notable again. Oct housing starts are seen retracing about half of the 6.5% jump in Sep. Consensus is 1160k annualized, well ahead of Sep permits on 1105k, so the latter should bounce. The minutes from the FOMC’s 27-28 October meeting are also due. The meeting was of course a surprise – rather than being a ‘placeholder’ between the key Sep and Dec meetings, the FOMC instead decided to flag an active debate on whether rates would be raised in Dec."
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