In July, new loan commitments for housing in Australia experienced a decline of 1.2%, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The decrease was more pronounced in owner-occupied loans, which fell by 1.9%, while investor loans saw a slight decrease of 0.1%. On the other hand, personal credit demand saw a notable increase of 4.7%. However, there were significant drops in business construction loans, which plummeted by 21.5%, and in the purchase of commercial property, which fell by 5.1%.
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.42 per cent lower at 7,274.60.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 30 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Energy, up 1.47 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Healthcare, down 1.61 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), trading 4.27 per cent higher at $6.35. It is followed by shares in Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and Auckland International Airport (ASX:AIA).
The worst-performing large cap is Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG), trading 4.71 per cent lower at $20.41. It is followed by shares in Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) and Resmed (ASX:RMD).
Company news
Santos (ASX:STO) agrees to an initial sale of 2.6 per cent of PNG LNG to Kumul and an option for Kumul to acquire a further 2.4 per cent. In response, Managing Director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said, “PNG LNG is a low-cost and low emissions intensity asset that contributes strong cash flows to the project participants and economic and social benefits to the nation.”
Desert Metals (ASX:DM1) announced that rare earth elements were found at their Dingo Pass project. With the exception of drilling nickel targets at Dingo all of the above work is relatively low cost and budgeted for within the Company’s existing cash reserves.
Leeuwin Metals (ASX: LM1) has entered into a binding agreement with Rocas Del Norte Incorporated to acquire additional tenure adjacent to our 100% owned Cross Lake Lithium project in Canada.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1936.10 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.5 per cent higher at US$118.20 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.59 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.85 US cents.
