Australian wages creep up in Q4, but businesses still playing Scrooge

Sydney

AUSTRALIAN wages rose a fraction faster last quarter but private sector growth stayed near historic lows as penny-pinching by businesses became an ever greater deadweight on consumer spending and inflation.

The local dollar eased 0.1 per cent to US$0.7874 as the report was not nearly strong enough to make a rise in interest rates any more likely this year.