In spite of the generally positive mood investors remained concerned by the
ongoing spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19, and whether it could derail the
recovery in major economies.
It became apparent that lockdowns in large parts of Australia would persist for longer than initially anticipated. As a result, economists downgraded economic growth forecasts and pushed back their expectations of when the Reserve Bank of Australia might start to raise interest rates.
The November CPI print showed that monthly trimmed mean inflation decelerated from 3.5% to 3.2%. While services and housing inflation continued the downward trend, electricity prices surprised to the upside after various subsidies came off.
Manufacturing PMI in November increased to roughly 50, hovering near the breakpoint between expansion and contraction.
