Australia: Modest GDP increase – Westpac

Australia released overnight the figures for the GDP growth in the final quarter of 2019. Analysts at Westpac Institutional Bank review the numbers and update their forecast for the Aussie economy. AUD/USD trades at 0.6606.

Key quotes

“The Australian economy posted a modest 0.5% increase in the final quarter of 2019.”

“Annual growth at 2.2%, up from 1.8% for September, remains stuck below trend, which is judged to be around 2.75%. Output per capita at 0.7% for the year is sluggish.”

“With the prospect of substantial disruptions in the first quarter of 2020, associated with the coronavirus, we expect growth over 2020 to slow to 1.9%.”