A leading analyst from investment group CLSA says interest rates in Australia will be less than 1% within two years and could even fall further, to zero.
Christopher Wood, managing director and chief strategist of the Asian-based equity broking and investment firm, told The Australian Financial Review: “I think less than 1% within the next two years. They are going to end up a lot lower than people still imagine.”
Wood has an impressive track record, having told investors to sell US mortgage securities before the sub-prime market collapsed at the onset of the global financial crisis.
“It’s not whether interest rates go up, it’s whether Australian interest rates go to zero,” Wood said. “When I was in Australia 15 months ago everyone thought that interest rates had bottomed and were going up. But now there is greater awareness among fund managers that it is going to stay lower for longer.”
