Financial News: Australia Westpac Leading Index Improves

Australia Westpac Leading Index Improves

09/16/2026 - 03:10:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - Australia's leading index suggested that momentum continued to improve in August and remained slightly below trend heading into late 2026, Westpac said Wednesday.

The six-month annualized growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, lifted to -0.09 percent in August from -0.17 percent in July.

Data showed that momentum remained soft in August but improved since mid-year.

"Growth appears to be stabilising at a slow pace rather than stalling with households resilient and notable support coming from a strong ramp-up in data centre investment," Westpac's Head of Australian Macro-forecasting, Matthew Hassan said.

Although a further rise in interest rates will take some of the gloss off near term, Westpac expects annual economic growth to slow 1.5 percent by year-end.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

Three-Year Note Auction Attracts Average Demand (01 hr(s), 17 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Kicking off this week's series of announcements of the results of its long-term se ...Full Story»

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens To Seventeen-Month High In August (04 hr(s), 33 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed the U.S. trade deficit ...Full Story»

Latvia Industrial Production Grows 0.3% (04 hr(s), 38 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Latvia's industrial production expanded in August after a renewed decline in the p ...Full Story»

Spain Industrial Output Growth Moderates (04 hr(s), 37 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Spain's industrial production grew at a slower pace in August due to the fall in c ...Full Story»

German Factory Orders Plunge (04 hr(s), 58 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Germany's factory orders declined sharply in August largely due to the collapse in ...Full Story»

French Industrial Output Falls Unexpectedly (05 hr(s), 28 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - France industrial production declined unexpectedly in August despite the rebound in th ...Full Story»

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens More Than Expected In August (05 hr(s), 53 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed the U.S. trade deficit ...Full Story»

Slovakia Retail Sales Rise 1.6% (06 hr(s), 18 min(s), 55 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Slovakia's retail sales increased in August after a slight decline in the previous ...Full Story»