Originally published by Chamber of Merchants
From the ABS:
The number of dwellings approved fell 2.5 per cent in December 2016, in trend terms, and has fallen for seven consecutive months, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
In December dwelling approvals decreased in trend terms, in New South Wales (6.3 per cent), Queensland (5.0 per cent), Australian Capital Territory (2.0 per cent), South Australia (1.3 per cent) and Western Australia (0.3 per cent) but increased in Tasmania (3.8 per cent), Victoria (1.5 per cent) and the Northern Territory (1.4 per cent).
Approvals for private sector houses fell 0.4 per cent in December in trend terms. Private sector house approvals fell in Western Australia (1.2 per cent), South Australia (0.7 per cent), New South Wales (0.5 per cent), Victoria (0.2 per cent) and Queensland (0.1 per cent).
In seasonally adjusted terms, dwelling approvals decreased by 1.2 per cent in December, driven by a fall in total house approvals (2.2 per cent). Total dwellings excluding houses rose 0.1 per cent.
The value of total building approved fell 3.5 per cent in December, in trend terms, and has fallen for five months. The value of residential building fell 2.4 per cent while non-residential building fell 5.6 per cent.
The Balance of Trade was also released
Australia recorded a trade surplus of 3511 AUD million in December of 2016. Balance of Trade in Australia averaged -565.88 AUD million from 1971 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 3511 AUD million in December of 2016 and a record low of -4297 AUD million in December of 2015.
And the AUD flew past the 76c mark…
The Australian dollar is looking unstoppable at the moment up 6% this year! What will it take to bring it down?
EDIT:
This post was originally written on Thursday morning. By Thursday night the AUD was up to 76.75 and rising!
The Speculator