Economist at UOB Group Lee Sue Ann assessed the recently published GDP figures in Australia for the October-December 2019 period. Key Quotes “Australia’s GDP expanded by 0.5% q/q in 4Q19, from a revised 0.6% q/q (0.4% q/q previously) reading in 3Q19, and above expectations of 0.4% q/q. The annualized rise was 2.2% y/y, both above the 2.0% y/y expected, and the 1.8% y/y expansion in 3Q (which was revised higher from 1.7%). It was also the strongest growth pace seen since the third quarter of 2018. In the details, though, private demand remained weak, with consumption growth coming in at 0.4% q/q, offsetting declines in public (-0.4%) and private investment (-1.1%).” “The latest figures, however, pre-date the worst of the Australian summer bushfires and also did not include any fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak. The Treasury had estimated that the bushfires might take 0.2pp from GDP, whilst the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned that COVID-19 could hit Australian economic growth by at least 0.5pp.” “As such, both the bushfires and COVID-19 are set to dent further the already-fragile sentiment, with tourism and education the first sectors to take a hit. As far as Australia’s tourism is concerned, the Chinese travel ban has exacerbated a decline prompted by the bushfires.” “Although the low interest rate environment and recovering housing market will support the consumer sector, concerns about the spread of the coronavirus may weigh on domestic hiring going forward, and we now expect the unemployment rate to climb over 5.5% over the coming months. That would put additional downward pressure on wage growth.” “Against the current backdrop, we have downgraded Australia’s GDP growth estimate to 1.8% y/y in 1Q20, from 2.5% y/y in 1Q20. Accordingly, we have also downgraded Australia’s full-year growth outlook this year to 2.1%, down from our previous estimate of 2.4%. This is a tad below the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s forecast in February of average growth of 2.2%.” FX Street FX Street FXStreet is the leading independent portal dedicated to the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. It was launched in 2000 and the portal has always been proud of their unyielding commitment to provide objective and unbiased information, to enable their users to take better and more confident decisions. View All Post By FX Street FXStreet News share Read Next Thailand: Weak price pressures to persist – ANZ FX Street 3 years Economist at UOB Group Lee Sue Ann assessed the recently published GDP figures in Australia for the October-December 2019 period. Key Quotes “Australia’s GDP expanded by 0.5% q/q in 4Q19, from a revised 0.6% q/q (0.4% q/q previously) reading in 3Q19, and above expectations of 0.4% q/q. The annualized rise was 2.2% y/y, both above the 2.0% y/y expected, and the 1.8% y/y expansion in 3Q (which was revised higher from 1.7%). It was also the strongest growth pace seen since the third quarter of 2018. In the details, though, private demand remained weak, with consumption growth coming in at… Regulated Forex Brokers All Brokers Sponsored Brokers Broker Benefits Min Deposit Score Visit Broker 1 $100T&Cs Apply 0% Commission and No stamp DutyRegulated by US,UK & International StockCopy Successfull Traders 9.8 Visit Site FreeBets Reviews$100Your capital is at risk. 2 T&Cs Apply 9.8 Visit Site FreeBets Reviews$100Your capital is at risk. 3 Recommended Broker $100T&Cs Apply No deposit or withdrawal feesTrade major forex pairs such as EUR/USD with leverage up to 30:1 and tight spreads of 0.9 pips Low $100 minimum deposit to open a trading account 9 Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk. 4 T&Cs Apply Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk. 5 Recommended Broker $0T&Cs Apply Trade gold, silver, and platinum directly against major currenciesUp to 1:500 leverage for forex trading24/5 customer service by phone and email 9 Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk.