Housing Market

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released dwelling approvals data for the month of May at a national level showing the number of dwelling approvals fell by 5.6% to 16,448.  The decline was due to the unit and apartments dropping by 12.1%, however home approvals actually rose slightly.  There is still the belief that there is a housing shortage especially in the three major cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Capital City dwelling values rose 0.8% over the June quarter but the second quarter of 2017 shows the property market demand is dropping off to some extent.

 

Investment Market

There is a tremendous interest in the development of lithium batteries.  Over the next 5-10 years

There is going to be tremendous development in this area.  The very fact that China is gearing up its factories to be a leader in this field of development.  Currently China manufactures 55% of batteries globally.

One of the big problems with electric cars is the cost of batteries.  If China is going to be the major player in this market, this could help reduce the cost of batteries.

 

Volatility in Oil Prices

The current volatility in oil prices has been overshadowed by the crisis in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates breaking off relations with Qatar.  This obviously has an impact on investments in the emerging markets.  The political upheaval in the European markets also has an impact when considering to invest in these markets. Investors are forced to consider the impact of these political upheavals and what effect  they are having on these markets, before investing.

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