Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand GDP (Q3) The good news is that the economy grew much faster in 2015 and 2016 than we all previously thought. The bad news is this makes the recent slowdown look a bit sharper and casts further doubt on the... 20th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Labour Market (Nov.) Another month of extraordinarily strong jobs growth in November leaves little doubt about the current health of the labour market. That said, there is still plenty of spare capacity which will... 14th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Consumer Confidence (Dec.) The leap in the Westpac measure of consumer confidence in December will be a welcome sight for retailers in the middle of the all-important Christmas shopping period. Nonetheless, with household... 13th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia ABS House Prices (Q3) For anyone in doubt, the weakening in house prices in the third quarter all but confirms that Australia’s housing boom is over. And more up-to-date indicators suggest that prices fell further in the... 12th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia International Trade (Oct.) Australia has managed to notch up 12 consecutive months of an international trade surplus, but only just as the surplus slumped from $1.6bn in September to $0.1bn in October. The pollution controls in... 7th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia GDP (Q3) The performance of the economy in 2018 will largely come down to whether stronger business investment can continue to compensate for weaker dwellings investment and consumption, as it did in the third... 6th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Retail Sales (Oct.) & GDP Partials (Q3) Today’s data releases suggest that GDP in the third quarter may have risen by just 0.2% q/q, but at least the 0.5% m/m rise in retail sales values suggests the fourth quarter may be a bit better. 5th December 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Private Capital Expenditure Survey (Q3) The third quarter private capital expenditure survey was better than expected, with the larger than normal upward revision to firms’ investment plans supporting our view that the outlook for business... 30th November 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Labour Market (Oct.) While employment growth came off the boil in October, the labour market still appears to be simmering along nicely. The problem is that this has yet to translate into faster growth of retail sales and... 16th November 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Wage Price Index (Q3) Wage growth for the majority of workers may have slowed further in the third quarter as the entire rise from 1.9% in the second quarter to 2.0% was probably due to the larger-than-usual increase in... 15th November 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Retail Sales (Sep. & Q3) The fact that real retail were broadly stable in the third quarter even though retailers offered more discounts than usual shows just how unwilling households are to take their wallets out of their... 3rd November 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia International Trade (Sep.) The rises in the international trade surplus and the number of building approvals in September are both encouraging signs as they highlight the growing importance of services exports and the recent... 2nd November 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand Labour Market (Q3) As the surges in employment and wages in the third quarter are a little bit of a statistical mirage, we are not convinced that the resulting strengthening in the dollar to US$0.69 will be sustained... 31st October 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Consumer Prices (Q3) The surge in electricity and gas prices in the third quarter will garner a lot of attention, but the drop back in the headline inflation rate from 1.9% to 1.8% underlines that price pressures remain... 25th October 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Labour Market (Sep.) The larger than expected rise in employment in September marks the seventh consecutive month of strong job gains in Australia and leaves little doubt about the current health of the labour market... 19th October 2017 · 1 min read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q3) The modest rise in headline and underlying price pressures in the third quarter doesn’t dramatically alter the outlook for interest rates, but at the margin it indicates that rates may rise a little... 17th October 2017 · 1 min read
