Taper Tantrum?
Well we could hardly call a loss of -0.2% for the ASX200 on the day a taper tantrum, and the index was already trending quietly down ahead of the 2.30pm RBA statement release. It did drop a swift -20 points on the release, but quickly recovered.
The RBA had flagged for months it would make a QE decision at the July meeting, so it was of little surprise when it announced a cutback to $4bn per week of bond purchases from $5bn as of September. It was nonetheless expected the RBA would implement its self-promoted “flexibility” and decide at yesterday’s meeting to delay that taper.