Australian New Motor Vehicle Sales fell 3.4 percent from the previous month in January, marking the first decline since July 2009. Sales of “other” vehicles (a category that includes vans, trucks, buses and government-owned vehicles) led the decline, dropping 17.4 percent. The outcome may have been linked to the end of a tax break for businesses making new vehicle purchases, which expired in December 2009. A more hopeful sign was seen in sales of passenger cars, which gained 4 percent to register the largest monthly increase in six months. While it is tempting to conclude that this points consumers’ resilience to the rise in borrowing costs over recent months, this seems premature considering February’s disappointing consumer confidence report. Indeed, those figures saw an index tracking Australians’ willingness to make major purchases (such as cars) decline by the most in at least five months, hinting that the strength in today’s passenger car sales figures may not prove lasting.
For real time news and analysis, please visit http://forexstream.dailyfx.com
To receive future articles by email, please contact Ilya at ispivak@dailyfx.com
DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.
Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM.
