Australia - Westpac Leading index for April +0.11% m/m to 98.17
- prior was -0.3% m/m to 98
Shall I break out the champagne yet?
More:
- 6 month annualised deviation from trend growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index (which indicates the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months in the future) lifted from -0.02% in March to +0.43% in April
WPAC comments:
- The lift is a positive sign after persistently weak, below trend readings throughout 2014 and a dip back into slight negative territory in March
- It suggests the Australian economy has regained some momentum although the growth pulse is still not particularly strong
- he Leading Index growth rate has been above trend for three of the first four months in 2015. That compares favourably to 11 out of 12 months in 2014 that were materially below trend
- However, at 0.43%, the growth rate in April is still well below the 0.78% average pace in 2013 and lacklustre by historical standards
- The Index growth rate has now swung from 0.43% below trend in November 2014 to 0.43% above trend in April
- Nearly all components have contributed to the 0.86ppt turnaround although in some cases this has been through a reduced drag rather than an outright positive contribution