December saw an uptick in Covid infections worldwide. Daily case numbers in the US topped one million for the first time, underlining the ongoing challenge of the pandemic.
Australia is in the midst of its biggest decline in immigration for more than 100 years.
That suggests housing construction activity could slow and that that the labour force could shrink in the years ahead.
The November CPI print showed that monthly trimmed mean inflation decelerated from 3.5% to 3.2%. While services and housing inflation continued the downward trend, electricity prices surprised to the upside after various subsidies came off.
Manufacturing PMI in November increased to roughly 50, hovering near the breakpoint between expansion and contraction.
