lowered the cash rate by 75 basis June 2012 – points in the June quarter to 3.50 per Global economic conditions have cent. remained highly fragile with ongoing weakness in Europe, easing in the pace of growth in China and a slowdown in Spanish Government bond yields rose the US recovery. above 6 per cent. While a bail out for lowered the Renminbi the Spanish banking system has been (RMB) benchmark deposit and loan agreed to, details of exactly how much interest rates by is needed and how it will be distributed are still being negotiated. 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 per cent Reflecting the increased risk aversion and across global financial markets, bond 6.31 per cent, respectively for the first yields in the US, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) fell markedly with time since bond yields reaching historic 2008 amid concerns about the global lows during the quarter. The AUD depreciated by 5 per cent in economy May, was in contrast to past and a slowdown in domestic demand. resilience shown during volatile periods earlier in the year. Consumer price index (CPI) data published for the March quarter was The Australian Government has lower than expected, with a fall of 0.2 per forecast a shift from a budget deficit of cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, to 3 per cent of GDP in to a 0.1 be 1.6 per cent over the year to March. per cent surplus in Due to global uncertainty the RBA
– June 2012 Global economic conditions have remained highly fragile with ongoing weakness in Europe, easing in the pace of growth in China and a slowdown in the US recovery. lowered the Renminbi (RMB) benchmark deposit and loan interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 3.25 per cent and 6.31 per cent, respectively for the first time since 2008 amid concerns about the global economy and a slowdown in domestic demand. Consumer price index (CPI) data published for the March quarter was lower than expected, with a fall of 0.2 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, to be 1.6 per cent over the year to March. Due to global uncertainty the RBA lowered the cash rate by 75 basis points in the June quarter to 3.50 per cent. Spanish Government bond yields rose above 6 per cent. While a bail out for the Spanish banking system has been agreed to, details of exactly how much is needed and how it will be distributed are still being negotiated. Reflecting the increased risk aversion across global financial markets, bond yields in the US, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) fell markedly with bond yields reaching historic lows during the quarter. The AUD depreciated by 5 per cent in May, was in contrast to past resilience shown during volatile periods earlier in the year. The Australian Government has forecast a shift from a budget deficit of 3 per cent of GDP in to a 0.1 per cent surplus in