Focus of the Tuesday's session was on RBA Meeting Minutes. The domestic economy appeared to have continued growing at a moderate pace in the September quarter and the transition of activity from the mining sector to non-mining sector of the economy had continued, RBA note din its latest Meeting Minutes. Low interest rates had been supporting domestic demand and the lower exchange rate since 2013 had been helping the traded sector. These factors were continuing to assist the economy to make the necessary adjustments, although it was noted that an appreciating exchange rate could complicate this adjustment.

On Wednesday, from Australia, Wage Price Index data was released. The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.4 per cent in the September quarter 2016, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Through the year to September quarter 2016 the WPI rose 1.9 per cent, a new low for the series. Seasonally adjusted, private sector wages grew 0.4 per cent and public sector wages grew 0.6 per cent in the September quarter 2016. Through the year private sector wages continue to grow at a slower pace than the public sector, 1.9 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent.

Thursday's session brought Australian job data. The trend unemployment rate remained steady at 5.6 per cent. The participation rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 64.5 per cent. Participation has decreased by 0.6 percentage points over the past year. Trend series smooth the more volatile seasonally adjusted estimates and provide the best measure of the underlying behaviour of the labour market. The seasonally adjusted number of persons employed increased by 9,800 in October 2016. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2016 remained at 5.6 per cent, and the seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate remained at 64.4 per cent.

This week markets will be looking at:

Construction Work Done (Tuesday 1:30)