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MNI BRIEF: RBA To Stop Market Meetings After Lunch Controversy

MNI (PERTH)
(MNI) Perth

Reserve Bank of Australia policymakers will no longer attend meetings with market participants between its board meeting and the release of its Statement on Monetary Policy, Governor Philip Lowe told a Senate committee on Wednesday.

The move comes after it was reported Lowe met with leading rates traders at a lunch hosted by investment bank Barrenjoey on Thursday, a day before the release of the Statement on Monetary Policy.

"I hear that many people have concerns about the timing, the timing between the Reserve Bank board meeting and the release of the Statement on Monetary Policy. I thought that was manageable but I hear many people are concerned by that, and we're responding to that we - we'll no longer do those type of lunches before the release of the Statement on Monetary Policy," Lowe said.

"There is nothing untoward here. It is appropriate. I can't live in a bubble, I need to talk to people, and I need to hear what financial markets say and I like asking people questions." He noted that bond yields had started to rise before the lunch and that yields moved by a similar degree in New Zealand's bond market.

Robert covers RBA and RBNZ policy and the economy for MNI in Australia.
Robert covers RBA and RBNZ policy and the economy for MNI in Australia.

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