Australia announces its federal budget for 2019-20
- Forecasts budget surplus of A$11 billion in 2020-21
- Sees GDP growth at 2.75% in 2019-20, 2.75% through 2021-22
- Sees CPI at 2.25% in 2019-20, 2.50% in 2020-21
- Proposes A$158 billion in tax cuts
The economic forecasts are basically a downgrade but the government maintains that they see the economy as structurally sound, though noting that 'genuine and clear risks' are emerging. Meanwhile, they also announced a heavy amount of tax cuts - as expected - to help provide relief for the Australian consumer.
The forecast back to a budget surplus and the tax cuts pretty much solidifies the 'election budget' criteria and markets are not entirely amused with the Australian dollar barely reaction. AUD/USD sits at 0.7074 still, near the lows for the day.
