A prominent economist believes 2017 should be a year of prosperity for Australia as the country benefits from China "throwing the kitchen sink" to stimulate its economy.
But the good news on growth isn't about to translate into higher interest rates just yet.
That's the view of economist Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics as the Reserve Bank left its official cash rate at a record low 1.5 per cent at Tuesday's monthly board meeting.
Mr Richardson said the good news facing Australia has already led to a surge in commodity prices, resulting in monthly trade surpluses in Australia.
"Trust me, that's going to last through 2017," Mr Richardson told the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences Outlook 2017 conference in Canberra.
"There is a chance we may get to a current account surplus for the first time since the early 1970s."
Central bank governor Philip Lowe issued a fairly balanced post-board meeting statement, saying the labour market remains mixed with the jobless rate having been steady around 5.75 per cent over the past year and inflation likely to stay low for some time because of subdued wages growth.
Dr Lowe said housing market conditions vary considerably across the country with prices rising briskly in some markets, but declining in others.
Growth in rents is the slowest for two years, borrowing by housing investors has picked up in recent months, and lending standards have strengthened.
"The board judged that holding the stance of policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time," Dr Lowe said.
Mr Richardson expects the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates three or four times this year, with Australia eventually following suit.
"It may start in the US, but it will eventually spread around the world and perhaps to Australia come 2018 and 2019."
Last week's Australian national accounts showed the economy bounced back by 1.1 per cent in the December quarter after a rare contraction in the previous three months, avoiding a technical recession, but Australians appear unimpressed.
Consumer confidence tumbled 4.4 per cent in the past week, according to the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey.
"The ongoing weakness in wage growth has likely weighed on consumers' perception of their finances," ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank said.
Confidence is a pointer to future retail spending.
