Growth Rate Steady at 3%

LATEST AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NEWS

With official interest rates in Australia remaining at 5.5% for the foreseeable future, forecasters at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) are now expecting the annual growth rate of the economy to be around 3%. This is considered by most commentators to be below par and therefore the most likely move in interest rates – will next be downwards.

The local jobs market is tightening with a drop off in job advertisements over the past 3 months. But interestingly, despite the fall in advertisements generally, there has been an increase in job ads placed on the internet. The increase in advertisements in January was 6% - well above expectations with total ads year to date being 30% higher than over the corresponding period 12 months ago.

For information on this article, or on any other aspect of the Australian economy or business opportunities available, please email me.

David

david.taylor@agarcarlyon.com

Export and Domestic Retail Sales Both Rise

LATEST AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NEWS

Both Australia'’s export trade as well as domestic trade have recorded growth over the December period.

The value of Australia'’s exports for the month grew 7% while imports only increased by 1%.

Domestic retail sales grew just 0.4% over the same month, which equated to total retail sales of $22.5 billion for December 2005.

Both sets of figures support the prospect for continuing economic growth during 2006, with inflation kept in check and interest rates remaining stable.

For information on this article, or on any other aspect of the Australian economy or business opportunities available, please email me.

David

david.taylor@agarcarlyon.com

Inflation Well Within Target Range

LATEST AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NEWS

Australia’s cost of living – as indicated through the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – has risen slightly over the 3 months ending 31 December 2005. The CPI rise was just 0.5%. This very slight increase has placed the annualised inflation rate at 2.8% for calendar year 2005. The low CPI increase is the smallest recorded for one 3 month period since 2004. The current inflation rate sits comfortably within the desired range set by the Reserve Bank of Australia, indicating that there is unlikely to any move in official interest rates in the short to medium term.

For information on this article, or on any other aspect of the Australian economy or business opportunities available, please email me.

David

david.taylor@agarcarlyon.com