Australian annual Federal Budget in focus

May 9, 2017

Big night for markets, with Australia’s Federal Budget the highlight. Meanwhile, there are still plenty of data releases from around the world.

Later tonight, the Australian Federal Parliament will convene for the release of the annual budget which will be delivered by PM Malcolm Turnbull’s treasurer, Scott Morrison. As with any national budget, this is a vital piece of economic information as it outlines economic policy for the year ahead. It also outlines the year that has just passed and whether the country has met its financial targets. The Australian economy has been under pressure since the GFC to reign in spending, which successive Governments have failed to do. As such, Australia is straddled with around half a trillion dollars of debt, with an expected $40 billion from the last fiscal year. As with politics in Australia at the moment, ruling parties have been operating with slim majorities over the main opposition party for a number of years, meaning that successive Governments have been unable to pass significant budget repair measures. It looks like being a similar situation this time around as well, with a number of minor parties now wielding significant power, due to the ruling party’s slim majority in Parliament. It will be interesting to see if there are any significant policies to come out of tonight’s budget that will help reduce spending and help bring debt down.

Announcements from around the world include:

Europe – Swiss Unemployment Rate, German Industrial Production & Trade Balance, French Government Budget Balance and Italian Retail Sales

US – NFIB Small Business Index, JOLTS Job Openings, Final Wholesale Inventories and IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism. Meanwhile, Fed Member, Robert Kaplan, speaks.

Canada – Building Permits