-Glenn Stevens, RBA Governor
In the first public appearance after last week's interest rate cut, Glenn Stevens, the RBA Governor, did not comment on domestic monetary policy but rather talked about the internationalisation of the Renminbi, the Chinese currency. Stevens launched the Bank of China in Sydney as the official local clearing bank for China's Yuan. The trading hub was announced last year as a part of Australia's free trade agreement with China, which is seen strengthening trade relations between the countries and opening up the world's second biggest economy for the Australian businesses, Stevens said.
Meanwhile, new job openings in Australia continued to increase in January, stirring up hopes that the nation's labour market will begin improving soon. ANZ's Job Advertising Series recorded a 1.3% climb in job ads last month, following the 1.8% rise in ads in December, and marking the eighth straight increase in the series. Australia's labor market has been a weak spot over the last few years, largely due to the structural changes in the economy as the mining-investment boom fades away. Over the last year the jobless rate has stayed around 6%, while job creation has fluctuated from month to month. Official employment data due on Thursday is estimated to show the unemployment rate climbing back to 6.2% in January from 6.1% in the previous month, with net job growth forecast to decline by about 5,000.
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