The number of housing-finance approvals in Australia rose a seasonally adjusted 2.2% in May from April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists surveyed ahead of the announcement on average had expected a rise of 1.5% in May.
The value of investment housing loans in May rose 2.4% from April.
The bureau said its trend estimate for the number of housing-finance approvals, which further smoothes seasonally adjusted data, rose 2.2% in May from April.
An index of consumer sentiment in Australia rose 9.3% in July from June to reach its highest level since December 2007, as shoppers' spirits were lifted by government cash handouts, upbeat views on the domestic economy and still-resilient employment levels.
The index rose to 109.4 points in July in seasonally adjusted terms from 100.1 points in June, compilers Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute said in a statement.
Australia's Fair Pay Commission said it would hold steady the country's minimum wage in recognition of uncertain times for the economy.
Australia's lowest-paid workers will continue to receive $543.78 a week. The commission said that other pay and classification scales under its jurisdiction would also remain unchanged.
Reserve Bank of Australia board members agreed to leave interest rates unchanged but held onto an easing bias and look likely to cut rates further if the economy stumbles in the second half of 2009.
As expected, the central bank said it will keep its cash rate target steady for at least another month at a 49-year low of 3.00%. "The board's current view is that the outlook for inflation allows some scope for further easing of monetary policy, if needed," Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.
Australia's inflation rose in June from a month earlier, lifted by higher prices for fruit, vegetables, motoring and insurance services, but reached a record low on an annual basis, according to a closely watched inflation indicator.
Policy makers will likely not be too unsettled by June's price fillip, as they already expect price pressures to broadly continue a downward trend in coming months as economic growth remains muted.
Australia's labour market showed ongoing signs of distress in June as employers continued sharply scaling back job advertising, but the slowdown is yet to translate into concerted job shedding. Employers instead appear to be finding ways to retain staff, hopeful that an upturn in the economy, which has so far avoided technical recession, isn't far off.
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Australian retail sales ran hot in May as government fiscal stimulus and interest rate cuts to offset the global financial crisis continued to wash through store checkouts. But building approvals hit a wall in May, a likely reflection of rising concern about unemployment over the medium term, economists said.
Retail sales rose 1.0% in May from April to a seasonally adjusted $19.55bn, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. It added to a 2.2% rise in March and a 0.3% rise in April.
The Australian sharemarket had its fourth consecutive month of gains in June.
The All Ordinaries Index closed the month 3.5% higher at 3,947.8 points. In June, investors returned to the sharemarket on growing belief that the global economy is slowly rebounding.
Global shares continued their upward trend in June, consistent with the Australian sharemarket.
30 June represented the close of the Australian financial year. The past year will be remembered for the Global Financial Crisis and near collapse of the global financial system.
Australian consumer sentiment surged in June on the back of news the economy is holding up better than expected, while housing finance commitments rose for a seventh consecutive month in April, buoyed by historically low interest rates and government support for new home buyers.