Article list

Weekly Petrol Prices; Credit & debit cards Petrol: According to data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol fell by 0.9 cents last week to a 17-month low of 121.2 cents a litre. The annual fall in petrol prices to January 13 stands at 11.9 per cent – the biggest […]

For the past 17 years we have produced “The Big Issues” report – a report that has sought to highlight the issues that are expected to influence the economy over the forthcoming 12 months. Now this is no crystal ball gazing exercise. The aim is not just to forecast where certain economic variables are likely to be […]

Job Ads; Weekly Petrol prices; Business Indicator Profits: Company operating profits rose by 1.9 per cent in the September quarter to stand 13.5 per cent up on the year. Profits in the year to September were up 13.2 per cent on a year earlier. Petrol: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price […]

Business investment Investment falls: New business investment (spending on buildings and equipment) fell by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter to be down 0.6 per cent over the year. Non-mining: Services sector investment hit a record high of $73.6 billion for the year to September. States: NSW business investment rose to a record high […]

Consumer sentiment Consumer sentiment: The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 0.7 per cent to 118.6 in the past week. The index is well above the average of 114.2 held since 2014, and above the longer-term average of 113.0 held since 1990. The consumer confidence figures have implications for retailers, and other consumer-focussed businesses. […]

Monthly Financial Statements Budget continues to improve: In the twelve months to October 2018, the Budget deficit stood at $2,345 million (less than 0.2 per cent of GDP) and down from the $3,379 million deficit in the year to September. The rolling annual deficit is the lowest for over 9½ years. Over the same 12-month period […]

Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Index The Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI), a measure of economy-wide spending, rose by 0.7 per cent in trend terms in October – the 20th month of sales growth. Spending is tracking above the 0.4 per cent average long-term monthly pace of sales growth. The annual trend growth in sales eased […]

Petrol prices; Credit & debit cards Unleaded petrol price: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum the national average price of unleaded petrol fell by 6.7 cents a litre last week to 149.4 cents a litre – the biggest weekly fall since the week ended November 30 2008 (down 7.0 cents a litre). Credit card debt: The average […]