Australia’s second economic contraction caused by Covid has been less severe than feared as increased public spending and a swelling trade surplus cushioned a steep drop in household spending during the east coast lockdowns.
The September quarter national accounts, released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed gross domestic product fell 1.9% compared with the previous three months.
That result surprised economists who had mostly tipped a 2.5%-3% contraction. At an annual rate, the economy expanded at a 3.9% clip.
Still, the quarterly contraction still made it the third steepest on records going back 62 years. The worst fall was the 7% dive during the 2020 June quarter as the first Covid wave crested, while the June
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