rates

But Mr Gardner added buying was likely to pick up as over summer due to earnings rising and the expectation of further cuts to interest rates.

The latest review, however, found only four were on track to be met, while four were worsening – including the annual rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration, which was up 12% in a year.

Inflation, energy prices and mortgage rates have fallen since Trump took office, although unemployment has risen slightly, consumer sentiment has sagged and the stock market was plunged into turmoil by the tariffs.

Even the country’s closest democratic allies and largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, faced ridicule, seemingly arbitrary import tax rates, and threats of territorial ambition.

The highest rating means a country can borrow at cheaper rates.