Westpac Leading Index: -0.14% m/m (prior -0.01% revised to -0.01% from -0.02%)
The six month annualized growth rate fell from 0.51% in May to -0.76% in June. AUD continues near its highs for the Sysney session at .7930 up 14 pips from NY
Westpac highlights: comments:
-The index is pointing to a slowdown in momentum in Australia’s growth profile
– This is the first below trend reading since July 2016
– The deterioration mainly reflects international factors including a sharp turnaround in Australia’s commodity prices in Australian dollar terms
– While we have seen a solid recovery in iron ore prices since mid-June in USD terms, the sharp increase in the Australian dollar from USD 0.755 to USD 0.79 will partly offset that adjustment. (interesting on our BHP ironore story earlier)