May 29, 2024 by Dymphna

Inflation eases, but consumers feel the pain: the economy in pictures

See the world through the eyes of an economist: Inflation, confidence, and immigration plans.

These are the charts that caught my eye this week. First up, inflation came in pretty much exactly as expected. With headline inflation at 3.6%, we’re a short stone’s throw from the RBA’s 2-3% target band, so the RBA will be happy with the result.

I’ve shared some charts here before on the way population growth is outstripping growth in the housing stock, making the housing shortage worse. The economist magazine notes that this is a problem across the anglosphere, with housing lagging well behind population growth.

Australian consumer sentiment continues to wallow in the doldrums, according to the Westpac survey. A cost-of-living crisis will do that to you.

There’s been a lot of talk about Peter Dutton’s announcement that he would pursue a lower immigration intake. But despite all the noise, the actual change to the permanent migration program would be pretty minimal.

Finally, new figures show that Australians are tipping in more than $50bn every quarter into their super accounts. Yes, that’s every three months!

And that’s how the world looked through the eyes of an economist this week.

DB