PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Advisory firm Deloitte has reported a fourth consecutive month of steady growth for the market capitalisation of Western Australia-listed companies which comprise the Deloitte WA Index.

During October, the market capitalisation of these companies increased by 6.5% to close the month at A$155.2-billion.

Further, the Western Australian economy continued to show improvements in retail sales, the housing sector and the job market, securing its position as the top-performing state economy in the nation over the past three months.

Deloitte lead audit partner Tim Richards said renewed business confidence had benefited the Western Australian economy.

“The Western Australian economy has benefited from renewed business confidence, with a recovery in the housing sector, improvement in the labour market and low interest rates, combining with an Australian dollar that remains below parity with the US dollar, to increase optimism,” Richards said.

The longer term outlook for the state’s economy remains positive, with Deloitte Access Economics expecting growth in the region to surpass the growth of any other state or territory, and the nation as a whole, for the next decade, after winning this title for the decade just gone.

Richards said the state needed to maintain its global competitiveness in order to be able to achieve growth and prosperity in the long-term.

“Gone are the days where commodity prices can sustain poor productiveness and inefficient performance,” Richards said.

“Western Australia will need to ensure that it is adaptable to changes in external forces and maintains a strong foundation in order to take advantage of the global demand for the state’s resources.”

Meanwhile, Deloitte noted that commodity prices surveyed generally performed favourably during the month, with coal leading the way with growth of 6.3%, largely as a result of the tightening of supplies by Australian miners and strengthening demand from China, as Chinese stockpiles at both port and power plants declined, resulting in winter restocking by Chinese utilities.

Base metal prices experienced mixed results with nickel posting the strongest gain of 4.8%, as a result of a proposed ban on export shipments by Indonesia, one of the world’s powerhouses in nickel production, causing Chinese importers to stockpile the metal in anticipation of supply disruptions.

The majority of precious metals posted steady price growth, with the exception of gold, which fell by 0.5%, driven largely by the resolution of the US debt negotiations, which lifted global equity markets and the US dollar, while reducing demand for this safe haven asset.