Australian Consumers Making a Comeback

Australia’s economy picked up pace last quarter as surging resource exports and a revival in consumption offset weakness in business spending — a sign it was weathering a slowdown in a once-in-a-century mining investment boom.

The local dollar hopped higher after growth accelerated to 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 2.3 percent the previous quarter and the fastest pace in a year. It was also a step closer to the usual pace expected for a country that has not suffered a recession in 22 years.

“Better than expected — all that fuss about nothing. The Australian economy is still motoring along and even a little bit stronger than many had feared,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors.

Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.