NAB says RBA on hold through to mid-2017

National Australia Bank commentary on the Australian economy & Reserve Bank of Australia following the housing data today

h/t and thanks to LiveSquawk

• Today's data, although better than expected, is still showing growth rates well below those seen in early 2015
• Continued moderation in investor approvals to be well received by the RBA; they rose slightly by 0.7% in Nov., are down 7.7% on year
• Cooling comes at a time when the RBA has become more optimistic on the domestic economy
• RBA is unlikely to try to anticipate offshore events, instead focusing on any large impacts on Australia or on bank funding costs
• NAB forecasts the RBA to remain on hold for an extended period before modest rate increases from mid-2017