Australia's consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent in the December quarter, buoying expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia could cut rates in February.
A 1.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase in consumer price index data released today has fueled predictions of a Reserve Bank cash rate hike in November.
The Reserve Bank appears to be sticking to its interest rate view for now, as new figures show a record trade surplus and continuing strong demand for workers.
Australia's economic growth slowed to 0.4 per cent in the December quarter, taking annual growth to 2.4 per cent, broadly in line with market expectations.
Home building approvals have suffered their biggest slide in three and a half years in November, with Western Australia's residential construction sector expected to take a hit over 2016.
Western Australia has experienced its first year of negative interstate migration since 2002, according to the latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.