For the week, the benchmark index lost 0.1 percent. Year-to-date, the market is up 7.5 percent.
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) TO RELEASE FINANCIAL AGGREGATES
DUE: Monday
PERIOD: April
MARKET FORECAST: Total credit provided to the private sector by banks and other lenders to rise by 0.3 per cent.
LAST RESULT: Total credit provided to the private sector by banks and other lenders rose 0.4 per cent in February after a rise of 0.2 per cent in January.
Over the year to February, total credit rose 3.5 per cent, the RBA said on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted figures also showed housing credit rose by 0.4 per cent in February, after 0.5 per cent in January and 5.3 per cent over the year to February.
Other personal credit rose by 0.3 per cent in February after falling by 0.2 per cent in January, with an annual fall of 1.1 per cent.
Business credit posted a rise of 0.4 per cent over February after a fall of 0.2 per cent in January, for a rise of 1.2 per cent in the year to February.
TD SECURITIES - MELBOURNE INSTITUTE INFLATION GAUGE
DUE: Monday
PERIOD: April
MARKET FORECAST: No market forecast for this series.
LAST RESULT: Consumer prices rose in March on the back of holiday expenses, alcohol and fuel - and despite falls in meats, housing and clothes.
The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute inflation gauge rose 0.5 per cent in March following an increase of 0.1 per cent in February, the survey, published on Monday, showed.
In the year to March, the inflation gauge rose 1.8 per cent - the lowest annual inflation rate for two years and falling below the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) two to three per cent inflation target band for the medium term.
The main contributors to the month's rise were holiday travel and accommodation, alcohol and tobacco, and automotive fuel.
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (HIA) NEW HOME SALES
DUE: Monday
PERIOD: March
MARKET FORECAST: No market forecast
LAST RESULT: Sales of new homes rose modestly in February after a large fall in January, according to an industry report.
New home sales rose 3.0 per cent, seasonally adjusted, in February, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA)-JELD-WEN new home sales report, released on Friday.
The result came after a 7.3 per cent drop in January, influenced by regional weakness, particularly in Victoria.
Detached house sales rose by 2.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted, in February, while multi-unit sales rose by 10.5 per cent.
In the three months to February, the total number of new home sales, seasonally adjusted, fell 5.6 per cent.
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS HOUSE PRICE INDEX
DUE: Tuesday
PERIOD: March Quarter
MARKET FORECAST: Australian capital city house prices to fall by 0.5 per cent.
LAST RESULT: Australian capital city house prices fell 1.0 per cent in the December quarter, official data showed.
This compares with an upwardly revised 1.9 per cent fall in the September quarter.
In the year to December, the house price index fell 4.8 per cent, the ABS said on Wednesday.
Economists had expected a fall of 0.7 per cent for the December quarter.
RBA INTEREST RATE DECISION
DUE: Tuesday
PERIOD: May
MARKET FORECAST:
All 16 economists surveyed by AAP expect the RBA to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.00 per cent.
LAST RESULT:
The RBA has kept official interest rates on hold after its April board meeting but left the door open for a cut as early as next month.
The decision to keep the cash rate at 4.25 per cent was in line with economists' forecasts.
RBA governor Glenn Stevens said earlier this month, in an accompanying statement after the April rates decision, that it appeared the pace of economic growth had been slower than expected.
Mr Stevens said the RBA board decided it would wait until the publication of the March quarter inflation data on April 24 before revisiting the need to cut interest rates.
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP/PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIAN PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING INDEX
DUE: Tuesday
PERIOD: April
MARKET FORECAST:
LAST RESULT: Australian manufacturing activity in February expanded for a third consecutive month, a private survey shows.
Gains in activity were largest in the clothing, footwear and transport equipment sub-sectors.
The Australian Industry Group/PriceWaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) was 51.3, only 0.3 index points down on the January reading.
Readings above 50 indicate an expansion in activity.
RBA INDEX OF COMMODITY PRICES
DUE: Tuesday
PERIOD: April
MARKET FORECAST: No market forecast
LAST RESULT: Export commodity prices inched higher for the third consecutive month in March.
The RBA's index of commodity prices was 0.6 per cent higher in terms of special drawing rights (SDRs)* in March after rises of 1.2 per cent in both January and February.
Prices had fallen for six of the preceding seven months so, despite the rises in the first three months of 2012, the index was still 5.9 per cent below its record high set in July last year.
The RBA said the largest contributors to the rise in March were increases in the prices of iron ore and oil.
DUN AND BRADSTREET BUSINESS EXPECTATIONS SURVEY
DUE: Tuesday
PERIOD: April
MARKET FORECAST: No market forecast
LAST RESULT: Australian retailers are becoming increasingly worried about wages growth and online competition eating into their profits.
Almost one-third of retail executives in March said wages growth would have the biggest effect on profit in the June quarter, a Dun & Bradstreet survey found.
This was up from 19 per cent in February.
Concern about wages growth among wholesalers rose by 12 percentage points to 25 per cent, the Dun & Bradstreet's National Business Expectations Survey of retail, manufacturing and wholesale executives showed.
AUSTRALIAN OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TO ISSUE TREASURY BONDS
Due: Wednesday
A tender is planned for the issue of $700 million of April 2023 Treasury Bonds.
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP/COMMONWEALTH BANK AUSTRALIAN PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES (PSI) FOR APRIL.
DUE: Thursday
PERIOD: April
MARKET FORECAST: No market forecast
LAST RESULT: Activity in the Australian services sector contracted in March as trading conditions weakened and the local currency stayed strong, a private survey shows.
The Australian Industry Group/Commonwealth Bank Australian Performance of Services Index (PSI) rose 0.3 points to 47.0 points in March.
A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.
Only two of the nine sub-sectors covered by the survey recorded rises in activity. They were finance and insurance, and personal and recreational services.
HIA TRADES REPORT
DUE: Thursday
PERIOD: March quarter
MARKET FORECAST: No market forecast
LAST RESULT:Skilled labour remains in moderate oversupply in the building industry, a study finds.
The HIA trades report, showed a trend of modest oversupply in the December quarter.
HIA chief economist Harley Dale said the surplus trend was not unexpected, given the lack of demand in a weakened housing market.
"Last year there was a deterioration in new home building, while the renovations market flattened out," he said.
AOFM TO ISSUE TREASURY NOTES
Due: Thursday
A tender is planned for the issue of $1 billion of Treasury Notes maturing on July 27 2012.
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA STATEMENT ON MONETARY POLICY
DUE: Friday
PERIOD: Quarterly MAR
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