International report to hover over domestic economy
The health of the Australian economy will be subjected to a global reality check with the domestic unemployment rate coming under the spotlight.
The International Monetary Fund will release the latest round of its World Economic Outlook Update on Monday, including forecasts for major economies and the direction of global finance.
In the previous report published by the organization in October, it was estimated that global growth would drop to 3.2 percent in 2025 and 3.1 percent in 2026.
It is predicted that developed economies will grow only 1.5 percent.
The publication of the report comes after global uncertainty in financial markets following the US intervention in Venezuela and tensions in Iran.
While the focus will be global on Monday, economic forecasts will be seen coming closer to home on Thursday with the release of unemployment data for the last month of 2025.
November employment figures showed the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3 percent, remaining at the same level for five of the last six months.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the number of unemployed people fell by 2000 people during the month, while the number of workers in jobs fell by 21,000 people.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said December figures were likely to show a worsening in unemployment levels.
“Unemployment is expected to rise to 4.5 percent as jobs data shows an increase of 30,000 and participation picks up again,” he said.
NAB Taylor Nugent’s senior economist was more optimistic about the data
“We expect the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.3 percent on Thursday with a gain of 40,000 jobs, reflecting some payback for the surprising softness in recent job growth,” he said.
“The possibility of a recovery in the participation rate makes the risk higher on the unemployment rate.”
Meanwhile, investors on Wall Street are unhappy with President Donald Trump’s proposal to cap credit card rates or indications that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has yet to make a decision on his successor.
Stocks closed nearly flat on Friday, with all three major indexes finishing the week with losses as fourth-quarter earnings season kicks off.
Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 83.11 points (0.17 percent) to 49,359.33 points, S&P 500 index decreased by 4.46 points (0.06 percent) to 6,940.01 points and Nasdaq Composite decreased by 14.63 points (0.06 percent) to 23,515.39 points.
Australian stock futures fell 6.0 points, or 0.06 percent, to 8,592.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 42.2 points on Friday, up 0.48 per cent to 8,903.9 points, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 42.5 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 9,226.7 points.
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