BENGALURU- Australia’s economy likely contracted in the third quarter as fresh lockdowns weighed on consumer spending and investments, but the extent of the fall was milder than the historic recession recorded last year, a Reuters poll showed.
Despite Australia’s success last year in containing the COVID-19 virus, fresh flare ups and the stay-at-home rule imposed this year severely dented economic activity leading to job cuts and calls for a ramped-up vaccination drive.
The Nov. 23-26 poll of 24 economists showed the A$2.07 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy contracted 2.7 percent during the July-September quarter. Forecasts ranged from -3.8 percent to -1.9 percent.
If economists predictions were realized, it would mark a sharp turnaround in economic activity from the 1.8 percent and 0.7 percent expansion rates in the January-March and April-June quarters respectively.
“Extended stay-at-home orders in New South Wales and Victoria will have hit consumption, with services spending set to be particularly impacted,” said Felicity Emmett, senior economist at ANZ.
The year-over-year growth was estimated at 3.0 percent but that was over a decline of 3.6 percent in the third quarter last year, revealing no substantial growth.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed capital expenditure fell a real 2.2 percent in the third quarter but an upgrade to future spending showed analysts were expecting a rapid recovery to take hold.
