DHAKA: Australian wages grew at their slowest pace on record in 2015, fuelling speculation the country’s central bank may introduce more easing measures.

Hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses rose by 0.5% in the last three months of 2015 compared to 0.6% in the prior quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Annual wage growth was 2.2%, the lowest rate since the survey began in 1997.

Analysts said the soft wages growth was a ‘mixed blessing’.

‘On the one hand it's a drag for household income growth and hence consumer spending,’ said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital in Sydney, reports the BBC.

‘But on the other it’s helping limit the upwards pressure on unemployment and helping to further improve the competitiveness of the Australian economy. It also means that there is no inflationary pressure coming from wages.’

BDST: 1257 HRS, FEB 24, 2016
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