Economic Commentary
16 July 2024
The June quarter was generally up and down, with portfolios bouncing around with inflation and interest rate expectations as new economic data has been released.
Further progress is being made in the fight against inflation, but in NZ this is taking a toll as the economy is looking bleak. The environment is certainly challenging for many mortgage holders and business owners. The NZ government budget was much as expected, with adjustments to tax thresholds being the main announcement. From an investment perspective, the US markets continue to be the bright spot with strong overall performance, although this is being driven by a relatively small group of technology companies. Markets now expecting rate cuts in both the US and NZ before the end of the year, with 2 cuts priced in to wholesale interest rates in both countries by the end of the year.
