SYDNEY - Australia's much-vaunted economy grew at its slowest pace in a decade last quarter as cash-strapped consumers went on strike, an urgent argument for more monetary and fiscal stimulus as headwinds mount globally.
Yet responding to the data, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg remained committed to delivering a budget surplus and said any new fiscal steps, including on business investment, would not come until the budget in May next year. The central bank concluded its September policy meeting this week by saying it would ease further if needed, and highlighted new risks from the escalating US-China trade dispute.
GROWTH NARROWLY BASED If there was a bright spot in Wednesday's numbers it was that quarterly growth of 0.5 per cent matched market forecasts, when there had been fears it would be even weaker. That was enough to see the local dollar firm slightly to US$0.6780. In all, public spending added 1.3 percentage points to GDP growth in the year to June, with net exports another 1.2 percentage points.
That was a particularly dismal performance given Australia expanded its population by 1.6 per cent for the year, twice the average pace of its developed world peers.
Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)
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