Australian home loan approvals probably were unchanged in November, ending four months of gains and adding to signs of slowing growth in the Asia-Pacific region's fifth-largest economy.
Approvals to owner-occupiers to buy or build probably were unchanged from October, when they rose 1.1 per cent, according to the median forecast of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases the report today.
Combined with reports last week showing retail sales declined and employment growth slowed, the stall in building signals the economy is cooling. The Reserve Bank will probably keep its overnight cash rate target unchanged at 5.5 per cent next month, according to the 19 economists Bloomberg News surveyed.
"Recent economic data has been on the soft side," Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital Investors, Australia's second-largest money manager, said in Sydney.
There is nothing in the recent run of generally soft numbers that would support another rise in rates by the Reserve Bank."
Retail sales unexpectedly declined 0.1 per cent in November from October, the second drop in three months, as consumers spent less at clothing stores and supermarkets. Employment rose a less-than-expected 2100 last month after 28,400 jobs were created in November.
Australia's housing market slowed after the central bank raised the overnight cash rate target three times since November 2003 to curb lending and surging house prices.
The bank has kept rates unchanged since raising them to a four-year-high of 5.5 per cent last March.
