Forex market attitudes to Australian PM candidates

Interestingly the Forex markets are signalling that Australia is confronting a bad choice of leaders - between two idiots to be sure. The NZD is surprisingly strong. I think the markets are anticipating a bad choice either way. Certainly there is no question that Gillard is dire news for the AUD in the short-medium term (say 0-5 years), whereas Abbot is the opposite I feel. Really its about the Gillard risk. The considerations are:

1. Resource Rent Tax - it will kill investment in the long term, but committed projects will continue. In the long term there will be balance of payments benefits in the Australian government receiving more money through extortion, but there will be a retained distaste in financial markets in the form of an interest rate risk premium for the extortion, and its surprise introduction.

2. Ideology - Gillard is a socialist who will invest long term in education. It will be inefficient spending, so considered a debasement of the currency value. Mind you? Any worse than Obama? The implication however is that wealth will unnecessarily be squandered.

3. Interest rates - I think both parties will have similar implications for interest rates - except for the Gillard 'tax premium' of say 0.25% x $750 billion of household debt for Australia. Basically they will have soft monetary policies because of the high housing debt, so they will let the exchange rate jump around with commodity prices and speculation about global economic growth.

4. Fiscal policy - Abbot could be expected to cut govt spending to repay debts.

Little surprise then that investors wanting AUD exposure are bidding up the NZD. Expect that disparity to correct after the election results.

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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com