The Conference Board release ... if its possible for a release to have a less than zero impact on the FX market .... but I digress.
Not a release that has an immediate market impact, but it all goes into the mix ... and TBH I quite like this indicator for the bigger picture (along with the Westpac Leading index).
Again... I digress
- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for Australia increased 0.4% in January
- Coincident Economic Index increased 0.1%
Leading indicator:
- Increased for the second consecutive month in January
- Six-month growth rate remains in negative territory,... the rate of decline has subsided compared to the last two quarters of 2014
- 5 of 7 components increased in January
- The positive contributors, from largest to the smallest: building approvals, share prices, gross operating surplus, money supply, and the yield spread
- Sales to inventories ratio and rural goods exports declined
Coincident indicator:
- 3 of 4 components increased in January ... household gross disposable income, retail trade, and industrial production
- Employed persons declined in January
- During the six-month period through January, the coincident economic index increased 1.2 percent, with all four components in the series making positive contributions
Says the Board:
Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that the economic expansion should continue in the near term, but the pace is unlikely to pick up considerably over the next few months.
AUD/USD continues to drip lower after the early flurry. Some profit-taking sellers the chatter, now awaiting China HSBC PMI due at 0145GMT (Adam's preview is here):
