Australia

The Australian arm of Binance, the world's largest crypto-currency exchange, on Thursday said some customers there will be unable to deposit or withdraw money after a third-party service provider cut off its service, Reuters reported. Binance said on social media that users would be unable to make Australian dollar deposits by bank transfer with immediate effect after payments provider Cuscal cut access. Withdrawals would also be cut off, it said, without detailing when.

Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in April after two months of outsized gains, and the jobless rate also ticked up in a sign the red-hot labour market might be cooling, bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month, Reuters reported. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday showed net employment fell by 4,300 in April from March, when it rebounded by a revised 61,100. Market forecasts had been for a rise of 25,000.

Australia is headed for its first budget surplus since 2008 as windfall tax revenue from a fully employed economy and elevated commodity export prices combine to swell the government’s coffers, Bloomberg News reported. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will forecast a surplus of around A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) in the 12 months through June 2023 when he hands down the budget at 7:30 pm local time Tuesday at Parliament House in Canberra. The document will also show smaller deficits over future years than previously anticipated.

Brisbane-based Everledger, which used blockchain technology to track the provenance of diamonds and other precious goods, has been quietly placed into voluntary administration after expected investor funding failed to happen, the Australian Financial Review reported. The move came despite it securing backing from the federal government and Chinese internet giant Tencent. The company was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur and former Queensland chief entrepreneur Leanne Kemp, as a way to use blockchain technology to track the provenance of diamonds.

Australian business conditions remained sturdy in April, supported by robust sales and labour market strength despite high inflation and rising interest rates, while cost pressures were still posing a challenge for firms, Reuters reported. The survey from National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) released on Monday showed its index of business conditions fell two points to +14 in April, but stayed well above its long-run average. The volatile measure of confidence edged up to 0, compared with March's -1, suggesting that an equal share of firms were optimistic as pessimistic.

Australia’s central bank signaled further policy tightening ahead after unexpectedly raising interest rates by a quarter-percentage point on Tuesday, sending the currency and bond yields surging, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank increased its cash rate to 3.85%, the highest level since April 2012, in a decision predicted by only nine of 30 economists. Money markets rapidly revised up expectations for further moves and are now pricing in a rate of just under 4% by October, from around 3.6% before today’s decision.

Australia's biggest landlords and developers played down concerns about inflated commercial property valuations at a conference on Tuesday, while acknowledging economic uncertainty was making investors and renters more cautious, Reuters reported. Commercial real estate prices are a major concern for investors globally as public markets price the impact of a slowing economy and the growth of remote work, while owners, especially unlisted players, resist major changes.

Australia’s central bank is set to extend a pause in interest-rate increases on Tuesday following a deceleration in inflation that allows the board more time to assess the economic impact of its policy tightening to date, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank will keep its cash rate at 3.6% for a second straight month, most economists predict and money market pricing shows. Deutsche Bank AG and Westpac Banking Corp. were among those that switched to hold from hike calls after first-quarter core inflation came in under forecasts.

Australia’s consumer confidence surged and business sentiment showed ongoing resilience after the country’s Reserve Bank left its key interest rate unchanged for the first time in its almost yearlong tightening cycle, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer sentiment jumped 9.4% in April to 85.8, a Westpac Banking Corp. survey showed Tuesday. Still Westpac’s Chief Economist Bill Evans expects household spending this year to be lackluster with confidence remaining 10.4% below the level in April 2022, the month before the RBA began raising rates. A separate National Australia Bank Ltd.