A leading economic index for Australia eased 0.1 percent in April, the latest survey from the Conference Board revealed on Wednesday.
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A leading economic index for Australia eased 0.1 percent in April, the latest survey from the Conference Board revealed on Wednesday.
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Australia's foreign exchange transactions value increased in May, figures from the Reserve Bank Of Australia showed Thursday.
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The number of skilled internet job vacancies in Australia continued to decline in May, a report from the Department of Employment showed on Wednesday.
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New home sales in Australia declined for the first time in five months in May, results of a survey by the Housing Industry Association showed Monday.
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Australia posted a merchandise trade deficit of A$1.911 billion in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - marking an increase of A$1.131 billion or 145 percent on the April deficit.
The headline figure was well shy of forecasts for a deficit of A$200 million following the downwardly revised A$780 million deficit in April (originally -A$122 million).
Exports were down A$1.30 billion or 5.0 percent on month to A$26.681 billion
Non-rural goods shed A$1.184 billion (6 percent), while rural goods lost A$62 million (2 percent) and non-monetary gold fell A$61 million (6 percent).
Net exports of goods under merchanting remained steady, while services credits climbed A$8 million.
Imports eased A$169 million or 1.0 percent on month to A$28.592 billion.
Capital goods fell A$195 million (4 percent) and consumption goods dropped A$34 million.
Non-monetary gold jumped A$38 million (12 percent) and intermediate and other merchandise goods added A$17 million. Services debits rose A$6 million.
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Australian job advertisements increased in June after declining in May, Warren Hogan and Savita Singh, Economists from ANZ Bank, said Monday.
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The construction sector in Australia moved to expansion in June, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed on Monday - posting an index score of 51.8.
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Australian business confidence improved in June, although conditions remained sub-trend, results of a survey by the National Australia Bank showed Tuesday.
Attachment 8438
The NAB business confidence index increased to 8 in June from 7 in May despite the government's challenging new budget. This improvement was driven by strengthened confidence in almost all the industries, with the surge in construction industry confidence contributing the most.
New orders remained stagnant in June, the same as in May.
However, the employment index weakened in June, coming in at -3, after being unchanged in May. Capacity utilization fell to 79.3 percent in June from 80.2 in May.
On the pricing front, input costs rose 0.3 percent quarter-over-quarter in June, a slower rate of increase than the 0.4 percent increase in May. Labor wages grew at a slower rate of 0.6 percent in June following the 0.7 percent increase in May. Output prices rose 0.1 percent on a quarterly basis in June, the same rate as in May.
The business conditions index increased to 2 in June from -1 in May, ending the negative trend that started in the beginning of the year. Sales and profits were stronger in June while employment remained weak.
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Australia's consumer confidence increased in July after a tumble in the previous months but remained weaker than average, results of a survey by Westpac showed Wednesday.
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The unemployment rate in Australia increased more than expected in June. reaching the highest level in 11-years, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The rise in the jobless rate came about due to a faster rate of increase in the number of unemployed individuals and an uptick in participation rate.
The unemployment rate increased to a seasonally adjusted 6 percent in June, more than the 5.9 percent consensus estimate. This marked a return to the 11-year peak which was recorded at the beginning of the year.
The unemployment rate in May, which was reported to be stable with April and March at 5.8 percent, was revised upwards to 5.9 percent.
Attachment 8478
The unemployment rate among women remained stable at 6 percent in June while the jobless rate among men climbed to 6 percent in June from 5.8 percent in May.
Compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points in June.
The jobless rate among people looking for full-time jobs rose to 6.3 percent in June from 6.2 percent in May, the highest rate since January. The total unemployed people looking for full time jobs increased 10,000 from the previous month to 543,000 in June.
The total number of unemployed people increased 20,300 over the month to 741,700 in June, with part time jobs rising 10,300 to 198,600.
The number of employed people also increased in June, rising by 15,900 to 11.58 million in June. Annually, employment rose 0.9 percent in June.
This was in trend with the increase in job advertisements in June, as reported earlier this week by ANZ Bank. Job ads rebounded by 4.3 percent month-over-month in June after declining 5.7 percent in May, driven by a 4.5 percent rise in Internet job ads.
The number of people in part-time employment increased 19,700 to 3.52 million in June. However, full-time employment decreased 3,800 over the month to 8.06 million in June.
The participation rate increased over the month to 64.7 percent in June from 64.6 percent in May. The participation rate among men rose to 70.9 percent in June from 70.8 percent in May and among women it remained stable at 58.6 percent.
However, on a year-over-year basis, the participation rate decreased 0.4 percentage points.
Earlier this week, the results of a survey by Westpac revealed that Australia's consumer confidence increased marginally in June but remained weaker than average.
Also from earlier this week, the National Australian Bank said that business confidence strengthened in June despite the government's challenging budget.
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The number home loans in Australia remained unchanged in May, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.
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The Conference Board's leading economic index for Australia added 0.2 percent in May. That follows the downwardly revised 0.2 percent contraction in April (originally -0.1 percent).
With May's increase, the six-month growth rate in the leading economic index improved to 2.1 percent (about a 4.3 percent annual rate) growth between November 2013 and May 2014, up from 1.4 percent (about a 2.9 percent annual rate) for the previous six months.
The strengths among the leading indicators continued to outweigh the weaknesses, with six out of seven components advancing over the past six months.
The coincident index was flat on month following the 0.22 percent gain in the previous month.
The coincident economic index grew 1.4 percent (about a 2.8 percent annual rate) in the six-month period through May, considerably better than its growth of 0.6 percent (about a 1.1 percent annual rate) in the previous six months. Meanwhile, real GDP increased at a 4.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2014, up from 3.2 percent (annual rate) in the fourth quarter of 2013.
During the six-month period through May, the coincident economic index increased 1.4 percent, with all four components making positive contributions (diffusion index, six-month span equals 100.0 percent).
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Export prices in Australia were down 7.9 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2014, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
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Private sector credit in Australia was up 0.7 percent on month in June, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Thursday - beating forecasts for 0.4 percent, which would have been unchanged.
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Final demand producer prices climbed 2.3 percent on year in the second quarter of 2014, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - slowing from the 2.5 percent increase in the previous three months.
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The unemployment rate in Australia was a seasonally adjusted 6.4 percent in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - touching a decade high.
The headline figure was well shy of expectations for 6.0 percent, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.
The Australian economy lost 300 jobs to 11,576,600 versus forecasts for an increase of 13,200 jobs after gaining 15,900 in the previous month.
Attachment 8933
Full-time employment increased 14,500 to 8,077,400 and part-time employment decreased 14,800 to 3,499,200.
But the participation rate inched higher to 64.8 percent, beating forecasts for 64.7 percent, which would have been unchanged.
Unemployment increased 43,700 to 789,000. The number of unemployed persons looking for full-time work increased 21,900 to 566,400 and the number of unemployed persons only looking for part-time work increased 21,800 to 222,600.
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The total number of home loans in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - standing at 52,153.
Attachment 8951
That was shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.6 percent following the downwardly revised 0.1 percent decline in May (originally called flat).
The value of loans added 1.8 percent on month to A$17.070 billion, following the 0.7 percent contraction in May.
Investment lending dipped 0.3 percent on month to A$10.678 billion after falling 0.9 percent in the previous month.
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House prices in Australia climbed 1.8 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2014, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
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An index measuring business confidence in Australia touched a four-year high in July, the latest survey from National Australia Bank revealed on Tuesday - showing a score of +11.
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The Australian economy remained slightly below trend in July, the latest leading index from Westpac Bank/Melbourne Institute revealed on Wednesday - easing 0.1 percent on month.
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The number of building approvals in Australia increased at a faster-than-expected rate in July, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.
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Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade deficit of A$1.359 billion in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
Attachment 9518
That topped forecasts for a shortfall of A$1.750 billion following the upwardly revised A$1.564 billion deficit in June (originally A$-1.683 billion).
Exports were up 1.0 percent on month or A$280 million to A$27.022 billion.
Non-monetary gold surged A$150 million (14 percent), while rural goods climbed A$75 million (2 percent), non-rural goods added A$44 million and net exports of goods under merchanting gained A$1 million (100 percent).
Services credits added A$10 million.
Imports were roughly flat on month, adding A$74 million to A$28.381 billion.
Intermediate and other merchandise goods climbed A$89 million (1 percent) and consumption goods collected A$19 million.
Non-monetary gold tumbled A$77 million (23 percent), while capital goods fell A$2 million. Services debits advanced A$45 million (1 percent).
Also on Thursday, the ABS said that the total value of retail sales in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month in July, standing at A$23.310 billion.
That was in line with forecasts, although it slowed from the 0.6 percent expansion in June.
Among the individual components, food retailing was up 0.3 percent on month, followed by household goods retailing (0.2 percent) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.1 percent).
Moving lower, sales for clothing, footwear and personal accessory tumbled 0.4 percent, followed by sales for department stores (-0.2 percent) and other retailing (-0.1 percent).
By region, sales in New South Wales added 0.3 percent, followed by Western Australia (0.1 percent), South Australia (0.2 percent), Tasmania (0.2 percent) and the Australian Capital Territory (0.2 percent).
Victoria was relatively unchanged (0.0 percent), while sales in Queensland (-0.1 percent) and the Northern Territory (-0.3 percent) were down.
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Consumer confidence in Australia declined sharply in September, the latest survey from Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute revealed on Wednesday.
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The unemployment rate in Australia fell to a seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
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The total number of motor vehicle sales in Australia fell at a faster rate in August, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.
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Australia's economy continued to expand, the Conference Board's latest leading index revealed on Wednesday - gaining 0.5 percent in July.
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Job advertisements in Australia increased at a slower rate in September, the latest survey from the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group revealed Monday.
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The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep its cash rate unchanged as expected at its October meeting.
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Business confidence in Australia took a hit in September, the latest survey from the National Australia Bank revealed on Tuesday, as its business confidence index slipped to a score of 5 from a reading of 8 in August.
The index for business conditions also was down, falling from 4 in August to 1 in September.
Attachment 10201
"The effects of soft national income growth - a function of lower commodity prices, excess capacity and cautious spending behavior - are being felt across the economy," said Alan Oster, chief economist at NAB. "This has been reflected in most industries."
Among the individual components of the survey, confidence was at its highest for construction, and at the lowest by far for mining.
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Consumer prices are expected to rise 3.4 percent on year in October, the latest forecast from Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute revealed on Thursday.
That's down slightly from the 3.5 percent annual increase forecast in September.
The trimmed mean came in at 3.3 percent, the data showed.
"Inflationary expectations have clearly eased back; maybe for now falling petrol prices are more important in the formation of expectations than a falling AUD," Westpac noted in a release accompanying the data. "Consumers are increasing seeing a very benign outlook for inflation."
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Consumer prices in Australia advanced 2.3 percent on year in the third quarter of 2014, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
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Australia's trade deficit widened more than expected in September, a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.
The seasonally adjusted trade deficit came in at A$ 2.26 billion in September, more than the A$ 1.01 billion deficit in August. Economists had expected the shortfall to increase to A$ 1.85 billion.
Exports rose 1 percent over the month to A$ 26.46 billion. Imports advanced 6 percent to A$ 28.72 billion in September.
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The unemployment rate in Australia was a seasonally adjusted 6.2 percent in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - unchanged and in line with expectations.
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Australia's construction sector continued to expand in October, though at a slower rate, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group, or AiG, revealed on Friday.
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The total number of home loans issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on month in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - standing at 51,465.
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Members of Australia's monetary policy board believed that the rate of growth for Australia's economy is likely to hold steady for the time being, minutes from the central bank's November 4 meeting revealed on Tuesday.
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A leading economic indicator for Australia's economy continued to slow in September, the latest index from the Conference Board revealed on Monday - dipping 0.3 percent.
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The leading index for Australia fell at a slower rate in October, results of a survey by the Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute revealed Wednesday.
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Total private capital expenditure in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2014, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - coming in at A$38.254 billion.
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The total number of new home sales in Australia climbed 3.0 percent on month in October, the Housing Industry Association said on Thursday, following the flat reading in September.
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