Private-sector credit growth accelerated to 0.7% in October, topping forecasts

The news: Australia's total private-sector credit growth accelerated to 0.7% in October, edging ahead of consensus forecasts of 0.6%.

The numbers: The year-on-year growth rate represented its fastest pace of growth since January 2023. The acceleration was driven by business credit, which was up 0.8% month on month, while housing credit growth remained stable (+0.6%) and personal credit growth slowed (+0.2%) following seven months of firm growth.

Within the housing sector, growth in credit to investors edged up slightly (+0.9%), while growth in credit to owner-occupiers remained steady (+0.5%). In year-on-year terms, growth in both categories continued to accelerate.