Shock slump in Chinese production growth

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Chinese Economic data Chinese economic data: Industrial production rose at a 6.9 per cent annual rate in August, the slowest growth in 5½ years (December 2008) and below forecasts. Retail sales rose

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CommSec: Petrol set to fall as global oil price slides

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Weekly petrol prices According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by 1.1 cents per litre to 140.2 cents a litre in

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CommSec: extended retail slump; building approvals rebound

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Building Approvals; Retail trade Council approvals to build new homes rose by 9.1 per cent in March after sliding by a revised 5.3 per cent in the prior month. In

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Building approvals slump; QLD retailers benefit from rebuilding

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Building Approvals; Retail trade; Private Sector Credit Council approvals to build news homes fell by 7.4 per cent in February after sliding by a revised 11.6 per cent in the

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La Niña weather event still dominates

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La Niña update Our last update on the La Niña weather event was published on February 14. At that time the Southern Oscillation index hit an 11-week low of +16.6

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Credit cards on the outer; Petrol on the rise

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Credit card lending; Weekly Petrol Price Credit card balances are growing at the slowest annual pace in 16 months. The average credit card balance in January was up just 0.8

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Motorists need to watch Middle East jitters

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Weekly Petrol Price Petrol prices continue to tracking sideways. According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by 0.3 cents a litre

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Retailers benefit as consumers continue to spend

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CBA Business Spending index The Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI) eased yet again in trend terms in January, but it certainly wasn’t all bad news. In fact only a

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Confidence stabilises but trend index at 20mth lows

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Consumer sentiment The Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence rose modestly in February following the sharp slide in January. The index rose by 1.9 per cent to 106.6 in February.

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La Niña gauge hits 10-week low

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La Niña update There are further signs that the current La Niña weather event has peaked. The Southern Oscillation index fell to a 10-week low of +18.1 on February 11.

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