Australia Westpac leading index for February comes in unchanged m/m (prior -0.01%)

I wrote earlier the January result for the index came in barley changed at down 0.1%.

Goes one better this month, with 0.0% change … i.e. unchanged.

• (and, hate to spoil the story but January revised to 0.06% m/m)

Via Westpac's report:

• six month annualised growth rate in the Westpac- Melbourne Institute Leading Index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, fell from -0.37% in January to -0.56% in February.

Index has now registered three consecutive months in which the growth rate has been negative

• Westpac expects growth in the Australian economy in 2019 to be around 2.2% - significantly below trend which is generally assessed as 2.75%.
• Key to the ongoing slow growth will be a challenged consumer as households adjust to much slower wages growth than anticipated and falling house prices. That will be supplemented by a continuation of the contraction in residential house building activity that appears to have begun in the September quarter of 2018.

A subdued outlook from WPAC. The bank is expecting an RBA rate cut in August and again in November of this year.