Westpac/Melbourne Institute (MI) Leading Index:
Westpac comments:
- Slight moderation in the growth rate of the Leading Index
- Moving more into line with our own view that growth in the Australian economy in 2014 will remain below trend for another year.
- The Index is giving us a sound guide around the endogenous components of the growth outlook but cannot adequately capture the exogenous weakness associated with the downturn in mining investment and persistent below trend growth in government spending.
- Despite some softening in recent months, the growth pace of the Index lifted notably over the second half of 2013, from 0.46% in June to 1.09% in December.
