Article list

Consumer confidence Consumer confidence: The Westpac/Melbourne Institute survey of consumer sentiment index fell by 1.7 per cent to 98.2 in September. Wisest places for savings: The proportion of people that ‘don’t know’ where is the wisest place to put new savings lifted from 6.4 per cent to a record (24-year) high of 8.7 per cent. […]

NAB Business survey; Weekly consumer sentiment; China data Business survey: The NAB business confidence index fell from +3.8 points in July to +1.4 points in August. The long-term average is +5.9 points. And the business conditions index fell from +2.6 points in July to a near 5-year low of +0.5 points in August. The long-term […]

Reserve Bank Board meeting The Reserve Bank has left the cash rate at a record low of 1.00 per cent. The Reserve Bank previously cut rates in both June and July, each time by 25 basis points or a quarter of a per cent. What has changed since the last meeting? The G7 Summit and […]

Weekly consumer sentiment; Reserve Bank Board minutes Consumer confidence: The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating fell by 2.3 per cent to 112.8 points. Consumer sentiment is now below the average of 114.5 points held since 2014 and the longer term average of 113.1 points since 1990. Reserve Bank: Minutes of the August 6 Reserve […]

Labour force Employment rose for the 33rd time in 34 months, up by 41,100 jobs in July after a revised 2,400 fall in jobs in June (previously reported as an increase of 500 jobs). Full-time jobs rose by 34,500 with part-time jobs up by 6,700. Economists had tipped an increase in total jobs of around […]

Wage Price Index; Consumer confidence Wages: The wage price index rose by 0.6 per cent in the June quarter (consensus: +0.5 per cent). Annual wages growth was steady at 2.3 per cent – near 4½ year highs. Public sector wages were up by 0.8 per cent in the June quarter – the biggest increase in […]

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; equipment investment; unemployment; construction work done; population growth; housing finance and dwelling commencements. Just as the Reserve Bank uses long-term averages to determine the level of ‘normal’ interest rates; we […]

Reserve Bank Governor speech Reserve Bank Governor speech: Governor Lowe delivered a speech titled “Inflation targeting and Economic Welfare.” Speeches from the Reserve Bank Governor can provide guidance on interest rate settings. What did he say and what does it all mean? Ahead of the speech, there was much conjecture on whether the Reserve Bank […]

Weekly petrol prices Petrol: According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol rose by 1.8 cents in the past week to 142.8 cents a litre. Prices have lifted for three successive weeks. Fuel inflation: Auto fuel, including petrol and diesel, is expected to be amongst the largest contributors to […]

Labour force Employment rose for the 11th straight month, up by just 500 jobs in June after a revised 45,300 increase in jobs in May (previously reported as a 42,300 increase in jobs). Full-time jobs rose by 21,100, but part-time jobs fell by 20,600. Economists had tipped an increase in total jobs of around 9,000. […]