Mixed week for the Australian dollar, indicating counter currency flows outweighed a heavy week of headlines from Australia, including an RBA meeting and improving data from the Land Down Under.
Australian Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
Australian Company gross operating profits rose 3.2% q/q in Sept.; Wages and salaries rose 2.4% q/q
Australian credit growth rate was flat m/m in Sept.; broad money grew +0.9% m/m
Tuesday:
Australia’s manufacturing stabilizes in November – “The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index declined by 4.2 points to 52.1 in November”
Australia house approvals rise to a 20-year high in October – “The total number of dwellings approved rose 3.8 per cent in October, in seasonally adjusted terms.”
Australia has A$10.024 Billion current account surplus in Q3 – That exceeded forecasts for a surplus of A$7.1 billion following the A$16.345 billion surplus in the three months prior.
RBA says significant jobs gains needed to return CPI to 2-3% – “Given the outlook, the board is not expecting to increase the cash rate for at least 3 years,” Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said Tuesday after the final policy meeting of the year.
Australia’s Queensland lifts most state border curbs in boost to economy – “Residents from all of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria will now be allowed to freely travel to Queensland.”
Wednesday:
Australia’s economy rebounds sharply in third-quarter from COVID-19 recession – “Data out earlier showed the A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy expanded by a bigger than expected 3.3% in the September quarter, following a 7% contraction in June, as the country largely got COVID-19 under control.”
Financial limits to curb borrowing for Australian homes not yet needed – RBA’s Lowe
Thursday:
AU construction industry recovery strengthens in November – The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index improved by a further 2.6 points to 55.3 in November
Australia posts largest trade surplus in 6 months – Australia posted a merchandise trade surplus of A$7.456 billion in October, beating expectations for a surplus of A$5.8 billion and was up from the upwardly revised A$5.815 billion surplus in September (originally A$5.630 billion).
Australia approves tough new veto powers over foreign agreements amid China row – The law allows the Commonwealth to block any agreement between Australian states, councils or institutions and a foreign government, such as a controversial 2018 deal between the state of Victoria and China.
Australian services sector upturn accelerates as demand strengthens in November – The seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index rose from
53.7 to 55.1 in November, indicating a marked increase
in activity
Friday:
Australian retail sales rose 1.4% m/m vs. 0.5% m/m forecast and 1.6% m/m previous; +7.1% compared to October.
