The Australian Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index six-month annualized rate eased to 0.25% in December from 0.33% in November indicating growth slightly above trend in the next 3 to 9 months. Westpac sees GDP growth to be about 2.2% in 2025, an improvement on the 0.8% growth in 2024. The positive readings are ahead of the negative readings that were seen in the middle of last year.