By Leith van Onselen
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this morning released the Lending Finance data for February, which registered a sharp fall in the value of personal and commercial financing commitments; although lease financing commitments registered a solid rise:
In seasonally adjusted terms, the value of personal finance commitments fell -3.8% in February and remains below the peak levels reached in 2010:
The value of commercial finance commitments remains in the doldrums, falling a further -8.4% in the month:
Commercial finance commitments in New South Wales and Victoria, in particular, are struggling:
Lease financing commitments are the one bright spot of this release, increasing 4.1% in the month, and appear to be in a bit of an uptrend. However, it too remains fairly low by recent historical standards, and adjusted for population growth:
The housing finance data for the month of February was reported seperately last week (see here). Overall, it appears that the lifeblood of our economy – housing and business finance – is not flowing well at all.
