Members began their discussion of the world economy with the observation that the growth of Australia's major trading partners had been a little below its long-run average pace in the June quarter, mainly as a result of the sharp decline in Japanese GDP. More recent data had suggested a pick-up in trading partner growth in the September quarter. Commodity prices had declined further over the past month, with oil prices recording a noticeable fall. Chinese GDP growth had been steady in the September quarter and close to the authorities' target of 7.5 per cent for 2014. Members noted that the composition of growth had ... (full story)