ECONOMIC COMMENTARY

China’s consumers aren’t ready to drive the economy’s growth.

Recent tariff announcements are a modest negative for growth in US and China although Chinese policy will look to offset the impact.

The NAB Cashless Retail Sales Index gained 1.1% in August on a month-on-month basis, following a gain of 0.7% (revised) in July.

The bigger picture – a global and Australian economic perspective.

Growth at a multi-year high but set to slow as risks build.

A strong first half and easing downside risks.

The business conditions index rose by 2pts to +15 index points in August, recovering some of the ground lost in recent months. Business confidence fell 3pts to +4 index points and is now below average.

Nationwide dwelling prices have fallen 4% since their peak in November 2017. How much further will prices decline? As you’d expect there is no simple answer.

Another decent outcome.

The last month of winter saw the housing market correction deepen, with dwelling values falling across five of Australia’s eight capital cities. CoreLogic’s national index was down three tenths of a percent over the month taking the cumulative decline since values peaked in September last year to 2.2%.

US economy still strong, but trade concerns won’t go away.

Reasonable growth.