Developing a composite index of economic activity for Australia

Abstract

This Economics Research Note outlines the development of a monthly Ai Group 'composite' index of economic activity for Australia. A simple weighted composite index is outlined, covering the three Ai Group performance indices as well proxies for the rural and mining sectors using available monthly data. This simple index shows that the economy has been generally in a slight contractionary phase in recent months, consistent with benign recent official data on the Australian economy