Data for econimic growth in Australia for the third quarter of 2021
GDP -1.9% q/q for a 'not as bad as expected' result
expected -2.7%, prior 0.7%
GDP +3.9% y/y for a beat
expected 3.0%, prior 9.6%
The contraction in Australia's economy in the quarter was a result of the delta lockdowns centred in NSW and Victoria. these two states account for just under half of the country's population. Consumer spending in the quarter fell sharply. The flipside of much lower spending is the jump in household savings, to 19.8% (its peak was 23.6% in 2020) which is likely to fund spending ahead (the new Omicron variant poses a risk to this rosy scenario though).
Background to this:
