RBA’s Harper: “I'd like to see the AUD rate “

The Australian Today reports comments from RBA’s board member Ian Harper, following his interview with the WSJ earlier today.

Key Points:

“Economists say that a serious trade battle between the world's two biggest economic powers (US & China) would likely hammer the Australian dollar ... in that scenario, a weaker Aussie dollar would help the local economy, while policy makers in Beijing would also likely take action to prop up Chinese growth ... "You would expect some countervailing action to stimulate Chinese economic activity"

"I'd like to see the (Australian-dollar) rate weaker than where we've seen it over the last 2-3 years, that's for sure"

But he does not a sudden decline on the horizon

Forecasting a rebound in economic activity from the unexpectedly weak third quarter

Economy was weak in the absence of strong non-mining investment and government spending

"Non-mining business investment ... It has been growing, but it needs to grow faster."

Employment growth is weak

Retail spending isn't as strong as it otherwise could be