A slowdown in China has dented Australia’s economic growth after the Oceanic nation saw its GDP rise by only 0.5% in the months to September and 3.1% from the previous year. The Australian economy has been suffering from the weakest consumer demand for more than 2 ½ years and a tightening in government spending.
The small increase was in line with economists’ expectations and was driven by the manufacturing and mining sectors. The small increase lent weight to the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates.
So far this year Reserve Bank Governor Glen Stevens has lowered interest rates four times this year in an effort to help support consumption and households at a time when the elevated currency created a slump in manufacturing demand and the demand for commodities.
Treasurer Wayne Swan hailed the “solid” data, saying it was more evidence of “the ongoing resilience of the Australian economy in the face of a difficult and volatile global environment”.
Mining contributed 0.4 percent to quarterly GDP growth, despite a plunge in commodity prices due to cooling in China’s economy that saw a 4.0% drop in Australia’s terms of trade the value of its exports against its imports. Swan added; “The solid growth the Australian economy achieved in the quarter is impressive given significant global weakness and one of the sharpest falls in global prices for non-rural commodities since the global financial crisis.”
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2323
The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.6103
The Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.5377
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.3066
The Euro to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.8113
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