Home Loans figures missed market expectations on 1.8% increase in November and fell by 0.7% compared to October 2014. In trend terms, the number of commitments for owner occupied housing finance was flat in November 2014.
There were no data releases from Australia on Tuesday, however, from China Trade Balance figures were released. China's exports rose 9.7% in December from a year earlier, beating expectations on 6% incline. Imports fell 2.4%, better than forecasted 6.2% decline. This resulted in a trade surplus of $49.61 billion in line with market predictions.The better-than-expected performance of imports showed China’s domestic demand isn’t that weak - in fact, it’s quite stable if the distortion from the oil price fall is excluded.
Morning part of Thursday's session was marked by Australian job figures. According to the latest figures, Australian employment increased by 37,400 to 11,679,400. This was well above anticipated incline by 5,3000. Full-time employment increased by 41,600 to 8,105,300 and part-time employment decreased 4,100 to 3,574,100. Unemployment decreased 16,200 to 759,200. Unemployment rate decreased 0.1 pts to 6.1% from a revised November 2014 estimate. Analysts were forecasting no change.
This week markets will be looking at:
New Motor Vehicle Sales (Monday 1:30)
Chinese GDP (Tuesday 3:00)
Chinese Industrial Production (Tuesday 3:00)
Westpac Consumer Sentiment (Wednesday 00:30)
HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI (Friday 2:45)
