Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe says Australia can expect inflation to rise, but unemployment to fall past its current six-year low of 5.3 per cent, as the central bank left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent for the 26th month in a row.
US stocks have advanced, led by gains in shares of technology and industrial companies, as a last-minute deal to save NAFTA as a trilateral pact raised hopes for progress in talks with other countries at the start of the fourth quarter.
Oil futures jumped more than $US2 a barrel, rising to levels not seen since November 2014, as US sanctions on Iran loom and a North American trade deal fosters growth.
Gold fell as investors favoured riskier assets after the United States and Canada salvaged NAFTA as a trilateral trade pact with Mexico, while expectations that a strong US economy would lead to higher borrowing costs also influenced sentiment.
Wall Street ended flat on Friday as gains by Intel, real estate companies and utilities offset a drop in Facebook after the social media network disclosed a fresh security breach.
Gold inched higher but was on track for its longest monthly losing streak since January 1997 as the US dollar firmed against the euro after Italy's budget jitters threatened the European currency.
Oil prices rose more than a percent, with Brent climbing to a four-year high, as US sanctions on Tehran squeezed Iranian crude exports, tightening supply even as other key exporters increased production.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has demanded the banks and regulators fix an insidious culture of greed over honesty outlined in a scathing interim report of the Financial Services Royal Commission.
Wall Street has climbed, helped by gains in Apple, Alphabet and Facebook, as well as the US Federal Reserve's confidence in the strength of the economy after it raised rates for the third time this year.
The state government remains hopeful Busselton can become the second site for a Qantas pilot academy, pledging up to $1.7 million and formally committing to a new $13 million terminal if the South West town is chosen.
Job vacancies in Western Australia have reached their highest level in more than five years, while the state's mining industry has hit a record level of employment.
Health stocks have helped Wall Street edge higher, although banks have slipped ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.
Oil prices eased after US data showed a surprise build in domestic crude inventories, but an impending drop in Iranian exports kept Brent futures above $US80 a barrel and on track for a fifth straight quarterly gain.
Gold prices held onto earlier losses as the US dollar trimmed gains after the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates as expected and forecast three more years of economic growth.
Grants from the federal government and delayed dividend payments from state-owned enterprises have helped the state government report an operating deficit 73 per cent below forecast in the 2018 financial year, while the non-trade economy has grown after a sustained period of shrinking.
US stocks have opened little changed, as higher oil prices lifted energy stocks and banks rose in anticipation of an interest rate hike, but losses in Facebook and chipmakers weighed on the market.
Oil prices jumped on global supply concerns following US sanctions on Iran's oil exports, with benchmark Brent surging to a four-year high, before retraced gains after US President Donald Trump called again on OPEC to boost crude output.
Gold has edged higher as the dollar drifted ahead of a US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, but bullion's upside remained capped by strong US economic data that continues to underpin the greenback.
Global Benchmark Brent crude has jumped more than three per cent to a four-year high above $US80 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia ruled out any immediate increase in production despite calls by US President Donald Trump for action to raise global supply.
The S&P 500 and the Dow have closed lower after new US-China trade tariffs kicked in, dampening last week's hopes for talks between the two countries, and as investors awaited an expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Gold barely changed after the dollar dropped following remarks by the head of the European Central Bank, but then pared losses, although activity was muted ahead of a US central bank meeting this week.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA has lashed the state government’s decision today to reduce extended Christmas trading hours as applied last year.
Opinion: While the issue of gender quotas has been a winner for Labor, it remains a divisive topic within Liberal ranks, as the recent pre-selection for the Wentworth by-election indicates.
