RBA to hike (even) sooner?

 Travel outside Sydney is banned for residents of seven council areas, masks must be worn at work and border bans are back. Here’s what you need to know about NSW COVID-19 restrictions. https://t.co/4eR7iNu6cB— Financial Review (@FinancialReview) June 23, 2021 

"Australia's private sector growth momentum further eased in June but remained at a strong level to indicate continued improvement in economic conditions during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Renewed movement restrictions in the Victorian state and supply constraints stood out as two key reasons weighing on the growth momentum for Australia in the June flash PMI data, which is worth scrutinising."

"Meanwhile private sector firms were also slightly less optimistic with regards to output in the next 12 months amid the uncertain virus and supply situation."

 #API#Crude -7.199M #Cushing -2.550M #Gasoline +0.959M #Distillate +0.992M #OOTT #OIL $CL_F— CN Wire (@Sino_Market) June 22, 2021 

OPEC+ denies having a target crude price. It says it sets its course on the basis of global supply-and-demand balance estimates and changes in oil inventory levels. It has been squarely focused on draining the massive glut that built up through last year's lockdowns.

The overhang is already gone, according to some analysts, while an OPEC+ technical committee recently forecast it will disappear by the end of July. At that point, OPEC+ will still be withholding 5.8 million barrels per day of supply, or nearly 60% of the unprecedented cuts it launched in May 2020.

That oil needs to start flowing back into the market, and quickly, to avoid hurting consumers struggling to get back on their feet and governments attempting to revive economic growth under the menacing shadow of a lingering pandemic. While inflation is to be expected in an environment of easy money, we do not need oil adding to that pressure, if it can be avoided.

The US and China are discussing a possible meeting between Antony Blinken, secretary of state, and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi at a G20 meeting in Italy next week, according to three people briefed on the talks. The Biden administration has also told Beijing it would like to send Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, to China over the summer.

The White House is considering a call with Xi Jinping, too, which would be only Biden’s second engagement as US president with his Chinese counterpart.

 🇨🇳 #CNY | #China should be cautious of #yuan depreciation risks with the change of overseas environment, China Securities Journal reported on front page, citing an unidentified analyst.

*Link (Chinese): https://t.co/B3rtHOlKy3— Christophe Barraud🛢 (@C_Barraud) June 23, 2021 

Beijing is focusing on reining in government debt and curbing financial risks. China has set a modest economic growth target of “above 6%” in 2021, is targeting a smaller fiscal deficit and has called on local governments to “tighten their belts.”

A number of economists and former advisers linked to China’s government say that focus is misplaced, given the shift in policy thinking globally since the Covid crisis as governments around the world pumped in record amounts of fiscal stimulus and central banks bought up the debt to keep interest rates low. It ties in with the growing popularity of Modern Monetary Theory, although none of the economists explicitly endorsed the approach.

“We should probably downplay the goal of reducing the absolute government leverage ratio, and place more focus on guiding interest rates to trend downward and ensuring that debts can be extended,” said Zhang, who is now chief economist at China Securities.