VIEW: ANZ note that the "the strength in........>

RBA: VIEW: ANZ note that the "the strength in employment over November/December

and the associated decline in the unemployment rate to 5.1% at the end of the

year from 5.3% in October will reinforce the RBA's view that "the Australian

economy appear[s] to have reached a gentle turning point." This makes it

difficult to see the RBA easing in February, notwithstanding the short-term hit

from the bushfires and the likely downward pressure on near-term growth

expectations from the weakness in consumer spending evident in the Q3 GDP data.

Accordingly, we are no longer forecasting a February rate cut. We still think

further rate cuts are more likely than not over the course of 2020, however.

Continued weakness in consumer spending and soft business investment suggest

that progress toward lower unemployment will stall at a level that is

inconsistent with the RBA achieving its policy objectives. We are in the process

of reviewing the likely timing of these future rate cuts."