Week in review
- NAB business confidence flat
- Westpac consumer confidence declines to 95.1
- ECB holds rates steady
Week ahead
- PMIs for manufacturing for U.S, Eurozone and Japan
- Chinese investment and retail sales
- Australia housing finance and labour market report
Thought of the week
Globally there has been a tentative turn in corporate and consumer sentiment, however, this has yet to make its way down under. Surveys released last week showed that corporate and household sentiment remained subdued in Australia. The softness does not bode well for domestic demand and the outlook for growth. As we’ve noted before, a pick-up in business investment is reliant on an improving outlook for household and rising levels of demand. So far the easing by the RBA has not been enough to reinvigorate confidence in the economy. Recent announcements on the U.S. – China phase one trade agreement may show up in next month’s survey, but even still further easing from the RBA is likely next year.
Australia business and consumer sentiment
Z-score
Source: NAB, Westpac, FactSet, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, all returns in local currency unless otherwise stated.
Equity price levels and returns: Levels are prices and returns represent total returns for stated period.
Bond yields and returns: Yields are yield to maturity for government bonds and yield to worst for corporate bonds. All returns represent total returns. AusBond Comp is the AusBond Composite 0+ Yr, AusBond IG is the AusBond Credit 0+ Yr both provided by Bloomberg.
Currencies: All cross rates are against the Australian dollar. An appreciation of the foreign currency against the Australian dollar would be positive and a depreciation of the foreign currency against the Australian dollar would be negative.
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