A 10 per cent surge in the level of business investment in machinery and equipment has helped Western Australia’s state final demand grow 0.4 per cent in the September quarter, as national economic data surprised on the downside.
Wall Street has tumbled more than 3 per cent, led lower by bank and industrial shares, as the US bond market sent unsettling signs about economic growth and investors worried anew about global trade.
Oil prices pared gains in a volatile trade overnight as fears flared that demand would stall due to a trade war between the US and China, and that Russia remained a stumbling block to a deal to cut global crude supply.
The Reserve Bank has kept the official cash rate at a record low and reiterated its economic growth forecasts, but is keeping a close eye on the stumbling east coast housing markets.
Oil prices jumped nearly four per cent after the United States and China agreed to a 90-day truce in a trade dispute and Canada's Alberta province ordered a production cut, while exporter group OPEC looked set to reduce supply.
Gold gained one per cent overnight, hitting its highest in more than three weeks, boosted by a sell-off in the dollar after the United States and China called a truce on fresh trade tariffs for 90 days.
Wall Street has risen as investors hope for progress on trade in a critical US-China meeting over the weekend, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their biggest weekly percentage gains in nearly seven years.
Gold fell as the dollar strengthened ahead of trade talks between the US and Chinese leaders at the G20 summit, while palladium prices crossed the $US1,200 per ounce mark for the first time.
Oil prices edged lower due to concerns of oversupply and a strong dollar but losses were limited by expectations that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia would agree some form of production cut next week.
Oil reversed course and rose as much as three per cent overnight after industry sources said Russia had accepted the need to cut production, together with OPEC ahead of its meeting next week.
Gold held steady but pared some gains as the dollar recovered and minutes from the US Federal Reserve's recent meeting showed an interest rate hike was imminent in December.
Gold prices have risen by as much as one per cent from two-week lows as the US dollar tumbled after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that interest rates were near normal, soothing investor worries over the pace of rate hikes.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have edged higher after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart is an opportunity to "turn the page" on a trade war.
Oil prices fell more than one per cent overnight, in conjunction with sagging stock markets after US President Donald Trump threatened more tariffs on Chinese imports ahead of the coming G20 summit.
Gold fell overnight to its lowest in more than a week, as the dollar rallied after comments from US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida bolstered expectations that the central bank would continue raising interest rates.
Western Australian small and medium enterprises are the second least confident of all states and territories, but are the most optimistic for the long-term future, a survey of 1,000 SME operators has revealed.
The state government will lift a ban on fracking in prospective areas of Western Australia after an independent inquiry found the petroleum exploration practice to be low risk.
The federal government will lay out its tax and spending plans unusually early in 2019, after the budget brought forward by a month to allow for an election in May.
Oil prices have risen about three per cent, clawing back some of the previous session's steep losses, although gains where capped by uncertainty over global economic growth and further signs of increasing supply, including record Saudi production.
Gold firmed overnight, supported by uncertainty over the future pace of US interest rate hikes and the outcome of the G20 summit later this week when global leaders will focus on trade tensions.
US stocks have closed lower in a shortened post-holiday trading session as the energy sector tumbled on continued weakness in oil prices, and the benchmark S&P 500 confirmed its second correction of 2018.
