Article list

Lending; Chinese inflation Home loans: The value of home loans fell by 4.8 per cent in April (consensus: -10 per cent) with owner-occupier loans down by 5- per cent and investor loans down by 4.2 per cent. First home buyers: The value of owner occupier first home buyer home loan commitments hit a decade high […]

Weekly petrol prices Petrol prices: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol rose by 1.9 cents last week to 110.5 cents a litre. Movements in the petrol price can affect consumer spending, and in turn, prospects for retailers. What does it all mean? Have the days of petrol […]

Weekly Petrol Prices; China manufacturing National average petrol prices: There is no weekly average petrol pump price data today from the Australian Institute of Petroleum due to a public holiday in the ACT. Wholesale petrol prices: Last week the national average wholesale unleaded petrol price (terminal gate or TGP) was up by 2.0 cents to […]

Reserve Bank Governor Testimony; APRA Chair speech Reserve Bank Governor Testimony: Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe appeared before the Australian Senate Select Committee on COVID-19. He said, “With the national health outcomes better than earlier feared, it is possible that the economic downturn will not be severe as earlier thought” The Reserve Bank Governor said […]

Retail trade; Skilled job vacancies; US economic forecasts Retail trade: ‘Preliminary’ retail trade fell by a record 17.9 per cent in April after rising a record 8.5 per cent increase in March. Skilled job vacancies: In trend terms, the Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) fell 16.4 per cent in April (or 18,400 job advertisements), the largest […]

Consumer confidence; Spending data; Weekly payrolls; Reserve Bank Consumer confidence: The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 2.2 per cent to 92.3 points. Sentiment has lifted for seven straight weeks and is up 41.4 per cent since hitting record lows. Survey of payrolls & wages: The Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that between […]

Chinese economic data Retail sales fell at a 7.5 per cent annual rate (consensus: -6 per cent) in April after declining at a 15.8 per cent annual rate in the year to March. Industrial production rose at a 3.9 per cent annual rate in April (consensus: +1.5 per cent) – the first expansion this year […]

Labour force Employment fell by 594,300 in April – the biggest monthly decline in jobs on record. Full-time jobs fell by 220,500 and part-time jobs fell by 373,800. The unemployment rate rose from 5.2 per cent to 6.2 per cent in April – the biggest lift on record. It was the highest jobless rate since […]

Economic trends National Cabinet to meet: National Cabinet will meet on Friday and top of the agenda will be plans to re-open the economy after a period of hibernation. Stimulus and support measures: Federal, state and territory governments and the Reserve Bank have outlined measures totalling over $340 billion or 17 per cent of GDP. […]

Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney petrol prices lift Weekly Petrol Prices Petrol prices: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol fell by 2.3 cents to a near 16-year low of 98.3 cents a litre last week (lowest since August 2004). East Coast & Adelaide petrol prices lift: According to […]