CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA —
Australia’s economy suffered its sharpest economic contraction since the Great Depression due to the pandemic, with data released Wednesday confirming the country is in its first recession in 28 years.
The economy shrank 7% in the June, the biggest contraction since records began in 1959, the government reported.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament: “This is a devastating day for Australia.”
The country is now in recession for the first time in 28 years following a 0.3% drop in the first quarter of the year, since it has logged two straight quarters of contraction.
“Today’s national accounts confirm the devastating impact on the Australian economy from COVID-19,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
“Our record run of 28 consecutive years of economic growth has now officially come to an end,” he added.
The previous biggest downturn since Australia began keeping records in 1959 was a 2% fall in June 1974. Economists estimate a sharper decline of 9.5% in 1930, when Australian became one of the countries worst affected by the Great Depression.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Parliament: “This is a devastating day for Australia.”
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development figures show the average contraction among OECD countries in the June quarter was 9.8%, including a 20.4% slump in Britain, a 13.8% downturn in France and a 9.1% drop in the United States.
The biggest drag on the Australian economy was a 12.1 % drop in household spending, the largest on record. That alone accounted for 6.7 percentage points of the 7% fall, with business and dwelling investment also down.
But Australia’s iron ore miners have benefited from greater pandemic disruptions to their main rivals in Brazil.
Mining investment increased by 1.3% in the quarter, and high iron ore prices paid by China contributed to a 17.7 billion Australian dollar ($13 billion) trade surplus, the largest on record.
June quarter results do not reflect a second lockdown in coronavirus hot spot Victoria state that began in early August. Victoria accounts for a quarter of Australia’s business activity.
Frydenberg said the Treasury Department was forecasting “slightly negative or flat” growth in the September quarter.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
