Australia’s December Westpac Leading Economic Index Rose 0.5%

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- An Australian index of leading economic indicators rose in December to the highest in more than a year as stocks and building approvals climbed.

The index, a gauge of future economic growth, rose 0.5 percent from November to 256.4, Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute said in Sydney today. The index expanded at an annualized rate of 6.2 percent.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens unexpectedly kept borrowing costs unchanged this month for the first meeting in four, saying information about the impact on Australia’s economy of three increases last quarter is still limited.

“The leading index continues to point to a dramatic improvement in growth prospects,” said Matthew Hassan, senior economist at Westpac in Sydney.

Westpac’s leading index tracks eight gauges of activity, such as company profits and productivity, to give an indication of how the economy will perform over the next three to nine months.

The coincident index, a measure of the current state of the economy, rose 0.4 percent in December to 245.8 points.