"It's not just about interest rate levels. In our view, moderate credit growth indicates that consumers and businesses remain cautious about increasing leverage because of uncertainty over job security and profitability"
- Michael Workman, Commonwealth Bank senior economist
Australia's credit growth was moderate in November, as consumers and businesses are still cautious to take on more debt. The amount of private sector credit issued by banks and other institutions inched up 0.3%, after increasing by the same amount a month earlier, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia data. The gauge came in below economists expectations for a rise of 0.4%. Among the individual components, housing credit stayed at 0.5%, personal credit was flat after falling 0.1% in October, while business credit declined 0.1%, after gaining 0.1% in the previous month. Over the twelve months to November total credit rose as much as 3.8%, against expectations for a 3.9% gain, but up from 3.5% in October. The M3 money supply was unchanged at 0.6%, while broad money eased to 0.5% from 0.6% a month earlier, while on a yearly basis the M3 money stocked rose 6.6% and broad money increased 5.8%.
Meanwhile, a private survey indicates that, most Australian importers and exporters prefer the Australian Dollar to remain in its current range, specifying the ideal level for the Aussie between 90 U.S. cents and 1 U.S. Dollar. The survey also shows that New Zealand is the top destination for Australian exporters during the first quarter of 2014, at 68.8%, ahead of China at 65.3%. On the contrary, the U.S. and Europe were less favoured as export markets, falling slightly since the previous quarter.
© Dukascopy Bank SA