The Australian economy continues to shows signs of a solid recovery with a leading index of economic activity showing strong improvement in July.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of economic activity contracted at an annualised rate of 1.8% in July compared with a contraction of 4.6% in June. The index attempts to point to where the economy is likely headed in the next three to nine months.
The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in Australia in the second quarter of 2009 fell 3.7% from the first quarter to a seasonally adjusted 30,411.
Economists according to a poll had forecast growth of 1.0% in the second quarter from the first.The Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of private-sector houses started in the second quarter rose 3.7% from the previous quarter to 22,347.
The value of commercial finance issued in Australia in July fell 1.0% after seasonal adjustment from June to $25.86bn, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
A rise of 6.8% in revolving credit for commercial finance was accompanied by a fall of 4.5% in fixed-lending commitments. Lease finance increased by 30.0% in July after seasonal adjustment to $436m. Personal finance fell 0.8%, comprised of a 2.3% increase in revolving credit and a 3.7% fall in fixed lending, the ABS said in a statement.Inflationary expectations were unchanged in September, with the median expected inflation rate unchanged from a reading of 3.5% in August, according to a survey by the Melbourne Institute.
Australia's economy shed a larger-than-forecast 27,100 jobs in August, tempering expectations of a rise in interest rates in October.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 5.8% in August from July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists on average had expected an unemployment rate of 5.9%, with the number of employed down 15,000.
An index of consumer sentiment rose 5.2% in September from August to its highest level since July 2007.
The index rose to 119.3 points in September in seasonally adjusted terms from 113.4 points in August, compilers Westpac and the Melbourne Institute said in a statement.
Australian retail sales fell for a second consecutive month in July as the impact of the government's fiscal stimulus showed signs of fading fast, challenging widely held expectations that interest rates will rise before the end of the year.
Housing finance also fell in July, its first monthly drop since September 2008, evidence that recent widespread talk of rising interest rates may have put a brake on demand.
Business confidence surged to its highest level in almost 6 years in August, sending a strong signal the economy continued to grow solidly in the third quarter while cementing the case for a rise in interest rates before the end of the year.
Business confidence jumped 8 points in August from July to an index reading of +18 points, its highest reading since October 2003 and well above its long run average levels, according to a monthly survey of businesses by National Australia Bank.
The total number of job advertisements in Australian newspapers and on the Internet rose 4.1% in seasonally adjusted terms in August from the previous month, to an average of 130,326 ads per week. It was the first rise in job ads since April 2008.
Total job ads were 48.1% down from a year, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, which compiles the data from major newspapers, said.
The number of Internet job advertisements rose 4.0% in August from July, contributing to an annual decline of 48.4% in seasonally adjusted terms.
Australia's economy grew stronger-than-expected in the second quarter, pulling it clear of any lingering threat of recession and pressuring the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates within the next few months.
The economy grew a seasonally-adjusted 0.6% from the first quarter, the Bureau of Statistics said, the fastest pace of quarterly growth since the start of 2008.