Investors emerge from Easter break to US inflation, earnings and data deluge

Closer to home, investors will also get a sense of how bullish businesses and consumers are about Australia’s economy when consumer sentiment and business surveys are released on Tuesday.

Several key reports on business turnover, building activity, household spending and labour force participation will also be released on Wednesday and Thursday, giving further insight into how well Australians are coping with continued cost-of-living pressures.

The market is expecting strong employment figures, with Westpac economists expecting the unemployment rate to stay at its 48-year low of 3.5 per cent.

“At least for now, the labour market is in a very strong position by historical standards, and it will take some time before a material weakening takes hold,” the Westpac team said.

Retailers have been predicting a further weakening of spending after Australian Bureau of Statistics data for February showed turnover growth was flattening and was up just 0.2 per cent for the month.

Bassanese said investors would be watching these numbers closely, but the most important data for the Reserve Bank of Australia would not be released this week.

“The big one for the RBA is the quarterly CPI [numbers] in a few weeks’ time,” he said.

– with Reuters

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