Inflation sticks around
The Melbourne Institute eased a little year-on-year from 6.1 per cent to 5.9 per cent.
The monthly reading was still elevated at 0.9 per cent, although the figures do bounce around a lot from month to month.
The highest ever monthly reading on this series was seen in July 2022, so we can expect a more significant decline in the year-on-year figure next month.
With the housing market firming, the Reserve Bank's interest rate decision will be line ball this week, although Gareth Aird (Commonwealth Bank) and Westpac (Bill Evans) have both called rates on hold.
Financial markets are also leaning that way, given the decelerating trend in inflation, weak wages growth, and significant lag in the rate hikes delivered to date, with most data coming in weaker than the latest published RBA forecasts, despite the housing market rebound.
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Inventories will add modestly, to this week's GDP figures, contributing 0.3ppts.
