Merry Christmas and welcome to the last Dominion Finance Newsletter for 2022.
Well, it certainly has been another tumultuous year, with the ongoing Covid presence, war in the Ukraine impacting global markets, and closer to home rising inflation and interest rates.
The Reserve Bank handed down another rise to the cash rate today and this would appear that Governor Phillip Lowe is not coming to the Christmas party and should get a bit more in the festive season.
Of course, as we all know the increase in the cash rate is to put the brakes on inflation and to do this, they want us all to stop spending as much. Figures released from the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales showed Aussies are not taking their advice as we spent more than ever in these sales. Canberrans were especially taken with shoes in the recent sales, with large increases in footwear sales.
The Reserve Bank does not meet again until February and it will be interesting to see how we spend at the shops leading up to Christmas and again in the Boxing Day sales and the month-long sales in January.
There is some speculation by the media experts that this increase could be the last and by this time next year we may even see the cash rate start to decline. That would be a merry Christmas for 2023.
For our clients, we know many of you are coming off your fixed rates in 2023 and we have commenced reaching out to all of you to begin the process of either obtaining a better rate with your current lender or re-financing to another lender.
If we have not contacted you yet, please feel free to contact us to appraise your current lending situation.
We strongly recommend making the time to see us rather than the lenders directly as there is odd behaviour by the lenders occurring at the moment. For instance, we are seeing some of the major lenders raising their fixed home loan rates while others are dropping theirs.
Finally, to all our clients, thank you so much for another wonderful year. We really enjoy working with you to realise your dreams and goals of owning your own home, increasing your portfolio with an investment property, or just increasing your wealth so you can enjoy a long and happy future retirement.
Our office in Forrest will be closed from the 23rd December 2022 through to the 9th January 2023. Our brokers will be available via email over this time if needed.
From our Dominion Finance family, we wish everyone a happy and safe festive season for you and your families.
At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 3.10 per cent. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 25 basis points to 3.00 per cent.
Inflation in Australia is too high, at 6.9 per cent over the year to October. Global factors explain much of this high inflation, but strong domestic demand relative to the ability of the economy to meet that demand is also playing a role. Returning inflation to target requires a more sustainable balance between demand and supply.
| The information provided in this newsletter is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances, needs, objectives or financial situation. This information does not constitute financial advice. Before acting on any information in this newsletter, you should consider its appropriateness in relation to your personal situation. |
