Australia's sovereign wealth fund is worried that policymakers around the world have only limited "firepower" to fend off another economic downturn.
Future Fund managing director David Neal says the fact that financial markets have a list of worries - in the present case China, oil prices, US interest rates and the impact of the refugee crisis on Europe - is not unusual.
But releasing the fund's quarterly portfolio, Mr Neal is more cautious this time around because of the limited "policy firepower" than in the past.
"Interest rates are already extremely low ... and perhaps fiscal policy more restrained across the globe, the ability to deal with a downturn is lower," he told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank will make its first response to those concerns that have dogged markets and undermined consumer confidence since the start of the year when its board meets next Tuesday.
But it's clear central bank governor Glenn Stevens doesn't have to worry about inflation.
The December-quarter consumer price index rose to an annual rate of 1.7 per cent, up slightly from the 1.5 per cent at the end of September and remaining below the central bank's two to three per cent target band for a fifth straight quarter.
"The Reserve Bank can comfortably ignore inflation and discuss merits of another interest rate cut on the economy if needed," Commonwealth Securities economist Savanth Sebastian said.
However, he is not expecting a move this year.
Other figures showed the Westpac leading index continuing to point to an economy travelling below its potential for at least the next six months.
Both Treasury and the Reserve Bank now believe potential growth is 2.75 per cent, rather than the 3.25 per cent view that was held for some time, while Westpac had been looking for this pace of growth in the first half of 2016.
"The signal from the leading index indicates that our forecast may be somewhat optimistic," Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said.
Consumer confidence, as gauged by the ANZ and Roy Morgan, also fell 0.9 per cent in the past week - a total 3.6 per cent drop in the past three weeks.
On a more positive note, job vacancies posted on the internet grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 per cent in December to be 9.4 per cent higher than a year earlier.
