Plenty on the calendar today
2200GMT - New Zealand - ANZ Truckometer for March
- Uses traffic flows as a proxy for economic growth
- prior +2.3% m/m
2350GMT - Japan - Machinery Orders for February
- AKA Core Machinery orders
- Published by Japan's Cabinet Office, its private sector machinery orders (excluding ship and power equipment)
- An indicator of capex to come (in around 6-9 months)
- expected +2.5% y/y, prior -8.2%
- expected +3.6% m/m, prior -3.2%
Also at 2350GMT from Japan, PPI for March
- a guide for business to business inflation and perhaps indicative of consumer inflation further down the track
- expected 1.4% y/y, prior 1.0%
- expected 0.3% m/m, prior 0.2%
0030GMT - Australia - Westpac's monthly Consumer Confidence Index (for April)
- prior +0.1% to 99.7
- While the m/m was barely changed in March, Westpac noted a significant fall in one of the components of the Index: the 'Family finances compared to a year ago' sub-index fell by 5.3%. ... currently respondents are particularly concerned about their own finances. News from the December quarter national accounts that wage incomes had fallen by 0.5% is indicative of the source of these concerns. That news, of course, complemented other recent reports that wages growth had fallen to a record low of 1.9%.
- Yep, thee it is again ... weak wage growth. This is a big issue the RBA is grappling with, not only is it weighing on consumption (and thus retail and thus economic growth), its holding inflation under the RBA target band.
0130GMT - Australia - Credit card balances and purchases
