Rabobank’s Senior Market Strategist Benjamin Picton notes that Australia entered the conflict period with solid momentum, as the February trade surplus beat expectations and Q1 job vacancies rose. However, Prime Minister Albanese’s televised warning on fuel conservation and speculation about possible fuel rationing next week highlight domestic energy vulnerabilities that could weigh on the Australian Dollar despite supportive macro data.

Strong data meets fuel rationing fears

"The Aussie trade balance for February was better than expected with exports up 4.9% and imports down 3.2%."

"Job vacancies also surged by 2.7% in Q1, highlighting the growth momentum that Australia was carrying into the war."

"Given that Prime Ministerial addresses to the nation are incredibly rare, Australians were perhaps bracing for some grave Menzian announcement (“My fellow Australians. It is my melancholy duty to inform you...”) but were instead wished a happy Easter holiday period, warned that the months ahead may be hard and told to conserve fuel by taking public transport and resisting the urge to stockpile."

"Some commentators have cheekily observed that this one could have been an email, but in the aftermath of Trump’s address Albanese’s well wishes for the Easter holidays are feeling a bit more like the last supper as speculation mounts that Australia could be headed for fuel rationing as early as next week."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)