ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

House price growth among fastest in world

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 3 : 10-Jun-21

Data from Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index shows that dwelling prices in Australia increased by 8.7 per cent in the six months to March. The nation ranked fourth in terms of house price growth among the 56 countries and territories that were surveyed. Meanwhile, Australia ranked 18th on an annualised basis, with house price growth of 8.3 per cent over the 12 months to March. Michelle Ciesielski of Knight Frank says Australia’s housing market has been "particularly resilient" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
KNIGHT FRANK

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 0.7pts to 110.7 after Melbourne’s lockdown is extended into a second week

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jun-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.7pts to 110.7 on June 5/6,after Melbourne’s lockdown was extended into a second week. Consumer Confidence is now just below the 2021 weekly average of 111.3, but it is 13.7pts higher than the same week a year ago (97.0). Now 29% (down 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 26% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 40% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 14% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 20% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 18% (up 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 41% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 25% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Mortgage and rental stress worsen in May

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 9-Jun-21

Data from Digital Finance Analytics shows that 41.3 per cent of households in New South Wales were in mortgage distress in May, compared with just 38.2 per cent in April. Likewise, 56.8 per cent of households in Tasmania were in mortgage distress. The northwest Sydney suburb of Stanhope Gardens had the nation’s highest level of mortgage stress in May, at 91.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Northern Territory was the only jurisdiction that did not record an increase in rental stress during the month.

CORPORATES
DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS

Australian unemployment increases 186,000 to 10.3% in May – a month after the end of JobKeeper

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Jun-21

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.49 million Australians were unemployed in May, up 186,000 on April for an unemployment rate of 10.3%. Some 13.07 million Australians were employed in May, just below the record high in April: a record 8,679,000 workers were employed full-time, an increase of 145,000 from April and the seventh straight monthly increase. However, the increase in full-time employment was offset by a drop of 367,000 in part-time employment, to 4,390,000. In addition to those who were unemployed, 1.26 million Australians (8.6% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work. This was a decrease of 101,000 on April. In total 2.75 million Australians (18.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in May, an increase of 85,000 on April. The increase was driven by rising unemployment in May. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.3% for May is over 4% points higher than the current ABS estimate for April 2021 of 5.5%

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases to 114.2 and now at its highest since Sep. 2019 – pre-pandemic

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-May-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.7pts to 114.2 on May 22/23. Consumer Confidence is now 3pts above the 2021 weekly average of 111.3, and it is 21.5pts higher than the same week a year ago (92.7). Now 31% (up 3ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 23% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest figure for this indicator since February 2020). In addition, 41% (up 4ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 14% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 20% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 15% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 44% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 23% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Record $36b exports lift goods trade surplus

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 26-May-21

The ongoing trade tensions with China have not significantly affected Australia’s export trade. New figures show that the nation’s international goods trade surplus topped $10bn in April, after the total value of exports rose by $13m month-on-month to a record $36bn. Iron ore exports rose by one per cent overall, but the value of shipments to China increased by $234m to a record high of $10.5bn. There was also strong growth in export volumes for commodities such as coal and petroleum. Meanwhile, the total value of imports fell by seven per cent to $25.8bn.

CORPORATES

Jobs defy wage subsidy’s demise

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Commins, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 21-May-21

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the latest jobs data shows that the federal government was justified in ending the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme in late March. New figures show that about 31,000 jobs were cut in April, well below forecasts that between 100,000 and 150,000 jobs would be lost when JobKeeper ended. The figures also show that 132,000 people have moved off income support since March. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has welcomed the slight fall in the official unemployment rate, but she says many workers are underemployed or in multiple jobs that are insecure and unreliable. Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles notes that 1.8 million Australians are still looking for work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 1.6pts to 112.4 as Greater Perth enters three-day lockdown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Apr-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1.6pts to 112.4 on April 24/25. Despite the fall, Consumer Confidence is still above the 2021 weekly average of 111.0 and 27.4pts higher than the same week a year ago (85.0). Now 28% (up 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 26% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 37% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 13% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 21% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 15% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 44% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 23% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since March 1, 2020).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Loan deferral scheme a win for economy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 28-Apr-21

More than 468,000 home loan customers in Australia were on deferred repayment plans at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic; this had fallen to 3,170 by the end of March. Likewise, the number of small business borrowers who have deferred their loan repayments has fallen from 235,440 to just 508. Overall, just 0.5 per cent of all loans are still on a ‘repayment holiday’. The loan deferral scheme ended on 31 March, but Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh says the nation’s banks will continue to provide support for distressed households and businesses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Price of electricity the lowest since 2012

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 7 : 28-Apr-21

Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest level since 2012 during the first three months of 2021. The wholesale price in New South Wales averaged $38 per megawatt hour, compared with $86MWh for the March 2020 quarter; the wholesale price in Victoria averaged $25MWh, down from $79MWh previously. Demand for electricity fell during the quarter due to factors such as the increase in solar power generation and the lowest average temperatures for the period since 2012.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED