At 12noon (AEST), the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.9372/77, down from Friday’s close of $US0.9421/25.
During the morning, the local unit traded between a low of $US0.9377 and a high of $US0.9423.
The housing finance data came in well below expectations and pushed the Australian dollar below a key support level of $US0.9380, Easy Forex senior [...]

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has blamed the Reserve Bank for a sharp drop in housing finance in March.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show there was a 5.3 per cent fall in the value of borrowing for housing.
The biggest fall was in the construction and purchase of new housing, which declined by 11.5 per [...]

The housing slump continues to deepen, gathering pace across new and existing home sales; something investors will have to keep in mind as they assess the Westpac move on St George.
Housing finance is the safest and most profitable form of bank lending, especially with all the added services for personal banking like credit cards, personal [...]

The latest housing finance figures confirm there is some resilience in demand for housing spurred by rising demand from investors, although any talk of a renewed inflation-stoking upsurge is most likely premature.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed the number of loan approvals for home-buyers rose by an inconsequential 0.1 per cent in December [...]

According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the newly released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) tourist accommodation performance data for the June quarter 2006 indicates that following a 5.6% increase in ADR (Average Daily Rate) to $118, hotels around Australia recorded their highest ever average RevPAR result of $72.
‘All major markets except two, which are coming [...]