Statement on Monetary Policy – May 2006 List of tables

Chapters

Boxes

Table 1: World GDP
Year-average percentage change(a)
2004 2005 2006 2007
IMF forecasts (April 2006)
United States 4.2 3.5 3.4 3.3
Euro area 1.8 1.4 2.0 1.9
Japan 2.3 2.7 2.8 2.1
China 10.1 9.9 9.5 9.0
Other east Asia(b) 5.9 4.8 5.2 4.9
India 7.4 8.0 7.3 7.0
Latin America 5.8 4.3 4.3 3.6
Emerging Europe 6.1 5.2 5.6 5.4
World 5.3 4.8 4.9 4.7
Australia's trading partners(c) 4.9 4.4 4.4 4.2

(a) Aggregates weighted by GDP at PPP exchange rates unless otherwise specified
(b) Weighted using market exchange rates
(c) Weighted using merchandise export shares

Sources: CEIC; IMF; RBA; Thomson Financial
Table 2: Europe GDP
Percentage change
September quarter 2005 December quarter 2005 Year to December quarter 2005
Euro area 0.7 0.3 1.8
– Germany 0.6 0.0 1.6
– France 0.7 0.4 1.5
– Italy 0.3 0.0 0.5
– Spain 0.9 0.9 3.5
– Netherlands 0.8 0.8 2.1
United Kingdom 0.5 0.6 1.8

Source: Thomson Financial
Table 3: Changes in Monetary Policy
Current level
 Per cent		 Most recent
change		 Expectations for
next 6 months
United States 4.75 Mar 06 ↑ 50 bps
Euro area 2.50 Mar 06 ↑ 50 bps
Japan 0.00 Mar 06 ↑ 10–25 bps
United Kingdom 4.50 Aug 05 no change
Canada 4.00 Apr 06 ↑ 25 bps
New Zealand 7.25 Dec 05 no change

Sources: central banks; Bloomberg; Reuters
Table 4: Changes in Major Country Share Prices
Per cent
Since 2000
peak		 Since
2003 trough		 2005 Since
previous
Statement
United States
– Dow Jones −3 52 −1 5
– S&P 500 −14 64 3 4
– NASDAQ −54 82 1 2
Euro area
– STOXX −22 120 23 5
United Kingdom
– FTSE −12 85 17 5
Japan
– TOPIX −1 125 44 3
Canada
– TSE 300 8 97 22 5
Australia
– ASX 200 56 95 18 8

Source: Bloomberg
Table 5: Change in US Dollar against Other Currencies
Since
USD peak
Jan 2002		 2005 Since last
Statement
South Africa −48 12 –1
New Zealand −34 5 6
Australia −33 6 −3
Euro area −32 14 −5
Sweden −31 19 −4
Canada −31 −3 −3
South Korea −29 −2 −3
Switzerland −28 15 −5
United Kingdom −23 11 −5
Indonesia −16 6 −5
Thailand −15 5 −5
Japan −15 15 −5
Brazil −15 −12 −5
Singapore −14 2 −3
Taiwan −9 3 −2
India −7 4 1
Malaysia −5 −1 −3
China −3 −2 0
Philippines 1 −6 0
Mexico 20 −5 5
Majors TWI −28 8 −5
Broad TWI −17 3 −3

Source: RBA
Table 6: Demand and Output
Percentage change
March
qtr 2005		 June qtr
2005		 September
qtr 2005		 December
qtr 2005		 Year to
Dec qtr
2005
Domestic final demand 0.2 2.1 0.6 1.4 4.4
Change in inventories(a) 0.7 −0.2 −0.1 −0.3 0.1
GNE(b) 0.8 1.3 0.6 0.9 3.6
Net exports(a) −0.1 −0.1 −0.4 −0.5 −1.1
GDP 0.7 1.3 0.3 0.5 2.7
Memo item:
Real GDP adjusted for 1.1 2.5 0.6 0.9 5.2
changes in terms of trade          

(a) Contributions to GDP growth
(b) Includes the statistical discrepancy

Source: ABS
Table 7: House Prices
Percentage change
APM REI Residex ABS
Mar qtr
2006		 Year to
Mar qtr		 Mar qtr
2006		 Year to
Mar qtr		 Mar qtr
2006(a)		 Year to
March		 Year to
Dec qtr
2005
Sydney −1.1 −3.8 .. .. −2.2 −3.5 −3.9
Melbourne −1.1 0.9 −3.1 4.2 5.9 5.5 2.9
Brisbane −1.1 0.5 .. .. 1.7 4.9 3.5
Adelaide 1.7 3.4 −0.1 2.7 .. .. 3.4
Perth 5.4 24.8 .. .. 10.1 24.4 22.5
Canberra −0.6 1.4 .. .. 5.0 7.5 0.8
Australia −0.1 1.7 .. .. 3.4(b) 5.8(b) 2.3

(a) Three-month-ended
(b) Excludes Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin

Sources: ABS; APM; state REIs; RBA; Residex
Table 8: Labour Market by State
Per cent
Employment growth Unemployment rate
March
qtr 2006		 Year-ended
March qtr 2006		 March
qtr 2005		 March
qtr 2006
NSW 0.2 1.2 5.3 5.3
Victoria 0.4 1.3 5.5 5.3
Queensland 0.4 1.7 4.6 5.3
WA 0.8 3.7 4.8 4.1
SA 0.2 1.3 5.4 5.2
Tasmania 0.1 2.9 5.7 6.5
Australia 0.3 1.6 5.1 5.2

Source: ABS
Table 9: Commodity Prices
Percentage change; SDR
Three months
to April 2006		 Year to
April 2006
RBA Index 5.8 26.5
Rural 3.5 16.1
– Wheat 10.9 29.1
– Beef & veal −2.9 0.0
– Wool 6.7 −1.5
Base metals 21.5 56.2
– Aluminium 9.8 44.2
– Copper 34.6 96.4
– Nickel 23.0 16.2
Other resources 1.8 21.8
– Coking coal(a) −4.7 95.0
– Steaming coal(a) −4.8 6.6
– Iron ore(a) −4.1 66.2
– Gold 10.9 48.3
Memo item
Oil in US$(b) 6.6 31.3

(a) Latest available data are for February.
(b) Oil prices are not included in the RBA Index.

Sources: ABS; AWB; AWEX; Bloomberg; Meat and Livestock Australia; RBA
Table 10: Financial Aggregates
Percentage change
Average monthly growth
September quarter
2005		 December quarter
2005		 March quarter
2006
Total credit 0.9 1.1 1.3
Household 0.8 1.0 1.2
– Housing 0.7 1.0 1.2
– Personal 0.8 0.4 1.0
Business 1.0 1.2 1.5
Broad money 0.5 0.1 0.6

Source: RBA
Table 11: Non-government Bond Issuance by Sector
$ billion
Sector 2003 2004 2005 March
quarter
2006
Bond issues by Australian entities
Onshore
Financial institutions 9.9 14.3 20.9 4.5
Non-financial corporates 5.6 8.0 9.3 1.9
Asset-backed 20.7 25.0 32.2 7.9
Total 36.1 47.3 62.4 14.3
Offshore
Financial institutions 51.5 64.9 52.0 25.4
Non-financial corporates 14.7 13.6 16.5 0.6
Asset-backed 24.3 29.8 25.6 6.2
Total 90.5 108.2 94.2 32.2
Total 126.6 155.5 156.6 46.4
A$ bond issues by non-resident entities
Onshore 7.1 21.3 26.2 15.9
Offshore 24.8 21.5 11.9 3.7
Total 31.9 42.9 38.1 19.6

Source: RBA
Table 12: Measures of Consumer Prices
Percentage change
Quarterly Year-ended
December
quarter
2005		 March
quarter
2006		 December
quarter
2005		 March
quarter
2006
CPI 0.5 0.9 2.8 3.0
– Tradables 0.0 0.8 2.0 2.8
– Tradables (ex food and petrol) −0.5 0.4 −0.3 0.3
Non-tradables 0.8 0.9 3.5 3.1
Underlying measures
Weighted median(a) 0.7 0.7 2.6 2.8
Trimmed mean(a) 0.5 0.8 2.3 2.6
CPI ex volatile items(b) 0.4 0.8 2.3 2.2

(a) Based on the distribution of seasonally adjusted quarterly price changes.
(b) Volatile items are fruit, vegetables and petrol.

Sources: ABS; RBA
Table 13: Output Prices at Different Stages of Production
Percentage change
March quarter 2006 Year to March quarter 2006
Preliminary 1.6 8.6
– Domestically produced 1.5 7.5
– Imported 2.7 16.3
– Excluding oil 1.4 5.6
Intermediate 1.5 6.9
– Domestically produced 1.4 6.3
– Imported 2.8 11.5
– Excluding oil 1.3 4.9
Final(a) 0.8 3.8
– Domestically produced 0.7 4.1
– Imported 0.8 2.0
– Excluding oil 0.7 3.1

(a) Excluding exports

Sources: ABS; RBA
Table 14: Median Inflation Expectations
Per cent
Year to December 2006 Year to December 2007
November
2005		 February
2006		 May
2006		 February
2006		 May
2006
Market economists(a) 2.6 2.8 2.9 2.6 2.6
Union officials(b) 3.5 3.0 3.3 3.0 3.2
(a) RBA survey
(b) Workplace Research Centre
Table D1: Comparison of Household Saving Rates
Annual average 1994–2004, per cent
Conventional saving rate Change in net financial assets as
percentage of household
disposable income
Australia 2.9 18.5
Canada 5.1 13.5
France(a) 12.0 15.3
Germany 10.2 11.1
Italy 13.2 19.1
Japan(a) 9.7 10.9
United Kingdom 6.8(b) 19.1
United States 3.1 23.6

(a) Average 1994–2003
(b) Gross saving rather than net saving

Sources: ABS; Bundesbank; OECD; RBA; US Federal Reserve