Thread: Australian economy grows 1.2% in second quarter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14801352

Australia's economy bounced back in the last quarter as it looked to recover from earlier floods and cyclones.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.2% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter, the statistical bureau said.


That compares with a contraction of 0.9% in the first three months of the year.


Analysts said demand for resources should help Australia's economy continue to grow.


"The expectation is for this improvement trend to continue," said Peter Esho of City Index in Sydney.


Compared with the same period last year, GDP grew by 1.4%.


Australia's strong economic growth appeared to please investors, with the country's main ASX 200 share index ending up 2.7%.


Australia's economy was given an unexpected boost by household spending during the June quarter, which was stronger than many analysts had forecast.

In earlier months, there had been signs that consumers, faced with uncertainty about the state of the global economy and a softer domestic jobs market, were cutting back on their spending.


Australia's government and central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), played down those fears, saying that despite the global wobbles, growth was ticking over steadily.


"The resilience of households was the stand-out factor," said Brian Redican of Macquarie.


"These are good numbers for the RBA and should quieten talk the economy is somehow falling apart."


After the damage caused by floods and cyclones, Australia's economy has been showing signs of getting back on track.

Data out last week showed that retail sales in July rose 0.5% from June, the first increase in three months.


At the same time, Australian firms spent 33.6bn Australian dollars ($36bn; £22bn) on business expansion in the second quarter, a 4.8% jump from a year earlier.


The Australian Bureau of Statistics said firms were planning to further invest A$149bn in the financial year to the end of June 2012, indicating that they expect the economy to grow.


Analysts said these developments coupled with better-than-expected growth numbers showed the economy has recovered.


"Basically this validates the RBA's view that the Australian economy's entered into the current period of global turmoil in pretty good shape," said Katie Dean an economist at ANZ.


However, she added that "whilst the economy is going very well at the moment, it does still face some challenging times over at least the next six months".


So, I know there are a lot of you who reside in Australia, so I was wondering what this actually means to you? What effects does it have on your day-to-day life? Will there be anything about this news that worries you?

Good news indeed, 0.3% growth for the first 6 months is still respectable in these tough times. I would still like to see some real growth in sectors outside of mining as we have a real 2 speed economy at the moment.
The questions at the end of the story are interesting and valid, for 99% of people it really doesn't matter if the figures come back +1% or -1%, life goes on as normal.

Don't you blinkin start the OZ v UK debate again lol. Did you know the weather is better in OZ ;)

Anyway OT but when are you off for your romantic weekend away?

This weekend.

No longer Paris though :'(

No place except septic-tanks available to stay in. So spending the same money, but in England. Get more bang for your buck.

I made no mention of the UK.

Originally Posted by Ktee

Don't you blinkin start the OZ v UK debate again lol. Did you know the weather is better in OZ ;)

Originally Posted by ophidian

I made no mention of the UK.

It's not all about YOU, I was talking to WB lol x

Originally Posted by WanderingBrit

This weekend.

No longer Paris though :'(

No place except septic-tanks available to stay in. So spending the same money, but in England. Get more bang for your buck.

Typical male, leaving everything until the last minute, you should have had it all organised. So where in the UK are you heading?

Going to Brighton. Staying at The Hotel Du Vin. Going to the Lanes for some shopping. Eating a swanky restaurant.

It's gonna get berserk!

I am sooo skint now though. :'(

Originally Posted by Ktee

It's not all about YOU, I was talking to WB lol x