Australian GDP increased by 0.5% for the December quarter

The Australian economy grew at an average pace, for the December quarter, the GDP growth recorded was 0.5%. This is a slight improvement from the 0.4% growth in the September quarter.

The key figures can be found here.

GDT up for the 6th consecutive time

The GDT price index increased for the sixth time. It grew by 1.1% this time.

UK construction expansion at a 4 month high

The construction industry showed a sharp expansion, with the construction PMI at 60.1 in February. This is the fastest expansion since October 2014.

The key points of the report include:
- Output growth rebounds further from December`s 17 month low.
- Sharp rise in incoming new work.

The full report can be found here.

Spanish unemployment reduced by 13.5 thousand

It is rare for the Euro zone to produce good data but today is one of the exceptions. Spanish unemployment was reduced by 13.5 thousand compared to a massive gain of 78 thousand in the previous period.

RBA: No change in rates

After the cut by 25 basis points last month, it is no surprise that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept rates constant in the rate decision today.

The monetary policy decision can be found here.

Insane growth in Australia`s housing market

The high growth was so unexpected that Business Insider used the headline "The Australian housing market is on fire." Building approvals accelerated by 7.9% in January, compared to -2.8% in December.

The article also highlighted the imbalance in the Australian economy as growth currently is fueled mainly by the housing market.

The full report on the building approvals can be found here.

Euro`s annual inflation prediction up to -0.3%

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union predicted the inflation in the euro area to be -0.3%, up from -0.6% in January.

Here is the press release .

UK`s manufacturing rises to a 7 month high

The UK manufacturing PMI rose to a 7 month high in February to 54.1. This shatters estimates and January`s figure.

The key points in the PMI report are:
- Growth rates in outputs and new orders increased
- Domestic market remains solid but export orders dropped
- Input costs and output prices fall further

The full press release can be obtained here.

HSBC indicates manufacturing up, contradicting official figures

The HSBC final manufacturing PMI indicated that the manufacturing industry expanded in China. This contradicts the earlier official PMI released a day ago.

Here`s the report by HSBC.

China`s manufacturing contracts again to 49.9

Manufacturing PMI in China contracted once again this year to a level of 49.9. An expansion in this area requires an index value of 50.0 and above.

This is a tiny improvement from last month`s 49.8 and beating the estimated 49.7.