Market Updates

Wall Street has had a choppy couple of days, with mixed trade on Wednesday night, followed by a strong drop at the open overnight and a subsequent partial recovery. The initial weakness during the overnight session was due to weaker-than-expected US Q1 GDP figures and the upside surprise to US Q1 PCE inflation. This combination saw US Treasury yields rise across the yield curve.

In Australia, the CPI inflation figures surprised to the upside, though pointed to further disinflation in the annual terms. The Judo Bank flash PMIs suggested the fastest pace of expansion in two years. Abroad, US GDP growth slowed in Q1, while PCE price inflation picked up. The S&P Global flash PMIs suggested even slower growth in the US in April and faster expansion in Europe and Japan.

Western Australian retail sales increased 0.3% in February, to be up 1.6% through the year. Western Australian employment rose 26.3k in February and the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%. New dwelling approvals in Western Australia rose 11.4% in January. Annual growth in the Australian monthly CPI indicator was steady at 3.4% in February.