Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s Alex Heath, Head of Economic Analysis Department, speaking at a mining industry conference:

  • Says Chinese demand for resources to remain strong in long run
  • Australia competitive in range of commodity exports
  • China demand for steel yet to peak given urbanisation, shift to consumption

More:

  • Australian mining investment drop to drag on growth
  • China’s huge appetite for commodities to continue
  • Harder for China to maintain growth rate over time
  • AUD remains above most estimates of fundamental value
  • Iron ore, coal to make positive contribution to GDP
  • Mining investment fall a significant drag on GDP

Full speech is here: The Domestic Outlook and the Role of Mining

AUD barely moving … 0.8624 and thereabouts …. down a couple of tics or so

(ps. USD/JPY and yen crosses continuing to dribble lower also)