This is the seventh consecutive month where the growth rate in the Index has been below trend. The index continues to indicate that we can expect growth in the Australian economy to stay below trend in the second half of 2014 and into 2015. That view is consistent with the revised forecasts recently released by the Reserve Bank of Australia in its August Statement on Monetary Policy. While the Bank forecasts using ranges, an analysis of the mid points of these ranges indicates that itsforecasts imply that the growth ‘pace’ of the Australian economy is likely to have slowed to 2% (annualised) in the second half of ... (full story)