Australian Core Inflation Quickens as Construction Work Jumps 3%

Australian economic readings released Wednesday showed inflation running hotter and building activity rebounding more strongly than anticipated. The trimmed-mean consumer-price index, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred core gauge, rose 2.7% in July from a year earlier, quickening from 2.1% in June. Separate figures put second-quarter construction work done up 3.0% from the previous three months, triple the market consensus of about 1%. The Westpac Leading Index, a forward-looking composite indicator, edged 0.14% higher in July. The stronger-than-expected data lifted the Australian dollar in early Asia trading. In China, National Bureau of Statistics numbers pointed to a moderation in industrial profit declines. Earnings at industrial companies fell 1.5% year-on-year in July after a 4.3% contraction in June, while profits for the January–July period were down 1.7%, a slight improvement on the 1.8% slide recorded in the first half. Total profits for the seven-month span reached CNY 4.02 trillion (USD 551 billion). Markets are monitoring whether the gradual stabilization in corporate earnings will translate into firmer industrial output in the coming months.