And followed by a low-key session on the economic calendar
2130GMT - Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe speaks: Australia and Canada - Shared Experiences, at the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum, Sydney
Sounds like too much fun for one day. But, the day will have barely begun ...
2330GMT - Australia - Westpac January Leading Index
- prior +0.44%, which doesn;lt sound like much, but it was the 5th consecutive above or at trend reading - which according to Westpac is signalling a better outlook for the first half of 2017: "In particular, whereas over the September- November period the Index had been losing momentum, albeit still in positive territory, the December result represents a very strong rebound."
0000GMT - Australia - January 'skilled vacancies' (Apparently boiling an egg is not considered a marketable job skill, hence this data is rarely of interest to me)
0030GMT - Australia - Wage price Index for Q4
- expected +0.5% q/q, prior +0.4%
- expected +1.9% y/y, prior +1.9%
- Subdued wage gains are expected given the slack in the labour market and the slow growth in jobs
0030GMT - Australia - Construction Work Done for Q4
- expected +0.5%, prior -4.9%
- That prior number reflecting, still, the downturn in mining-related investment work. This is not a surprise development, its been going on a few years now since the 'capex cliff'. What was more of a surprise was the (lack of) contribution from other construction sectors; the 'transition' in the economy is still a wee bit wobbly
0130GMT - China - property prices for January. Chinese authorities have been taking actions to calm surging property prices, among the actions have been attempts to reduce liquidity flowing into the sector. Authorities would much prefer credit flows into the real economy. Efforts at 'reform' continue, which may impinge economic growth in China ... it's a balancing act and its ongoing.
0200GMT - New Zealand - January credit card spending data
