Aussies spend up on clothes, take-away food

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Economic trends & issues The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released retail spending data for December on Monday. CommSec obtained detailed spending data from the ABS in nominal and real

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Petrol eases from 19-month highs; Best month for shares

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Weekly petrol price; Sharemarket perspective Retail petrol: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol fell by 1.2 cents to 134.0 cents a

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Inflation becalmed; poised to lift only slowly

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Consumer price index Inflation: The Consumer Price Index – the main measure of inflation in Australia – rose by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, below expectations for a

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Inflation expectations at a 4½-year high

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Consumer Confidence Consumer confidence: The ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating eased from four-month highs, falling by 1.9 per cent to 117.0 in the week to January 22. Confidence is up

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CommSec State of the States – January 2017

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Overall Results How are Australia’s states and territories performing? Each quarter CommSec attempts to find out by analysing eight key indicators: economic growth; retail spending; business investment; unemployment; construction work

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Full-time jobs post best quarterly gains in six years

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Labour force Employment rose by 13,500 in December after rising by 37,100 in November (previously reported as a rise of 39,100 jobs). Full-time jobs rose by 9,300 while part-time jobs

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Investor loans soar; Inflation makes a comeback

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Housing finance; Consumer Confidence; New vehicle sales Home loans: The number of loans (commitments) for budding home owners (owner-occupiers) rose by 0.9 per cent in November after falling by 0.6

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Petrol prices surge to an 18-month high

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Petrol price; Tourist arrivals Retail petrol: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by 6 cents to 134.3 cents a litre

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CommSec Research. China: Trade surplus but exports slide

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China trade China trade data: The trade surplus narrowed from US$44.61 billion to US$40.82 billion in December (forecast US$46.5 billion). Exports were down 6.1 per cent over the year (forecast:

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Economy shrinks: Wake-up call for Australia

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National accounts Economy contracts: The economy contracted by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter after an upwardly-revised 0.6 per cent increase in the June quarter (previously up 0.5 per

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