Monday: RBA Deputy Governor speech

Tuesday: Wage Price Index (Q2), Westpac/MI consumer sentiment (Aug), NAB business survey (July)

Thursday: Unemployment/ employment (July) CBA household spending intentions

Friday: RBA Governor appearance at House of Reps committee hearing

Wages and jobs dominate the local data feed this week.

The Wage Price Index (Q2) drops on Tuesday and is expected to wage growth further moderating from an annual pace of 4.2% six months ago to below 4%.

Labour force figures (Thursday) have remained fairly strong, but the jobs market may be losing a bit of momentum.

The CBA has pencilled in around 20-thousand new jobs being created in July and if the participation rate stays steady, unemployment is likely to creep up to 4.2%.

A steady rise above the RBA’s forecast jobless rate would strengthen the argument for a rate cut, but a fair way down the track.

It’s a big week for the abstract nouns in the economy with the Westpac/ Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment survey and NAB’s business conditions survey both released on Tuesday.

Business is not overly glum (but certainly not happy), while those buying their goods, the consumers, are deeply pessimistic.

The week is bookended (hopefully that’s a verb) by RBA-speak (maybe a noun).

The relatively freshly minted RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser is out and about on Monday.

We haven’t spotted a title for the speech, but it should be interesting to hear again from the former Bank of England executive director for markets and the first RBA outsider to be appointed deputy governor.

 He was appointed, to do amongst other things, challenge the “group think” at Martin Place identified by the federal government’s independent inquiry into the central bank.

Mr Hauser will be back with his boss (and former deputy governor) Michele Bullock fronting the House of Representatives Economics Committee on Friday.

It should be interesting to get their thoughts in the wake of the WPI and jobs data earlier in the week.