According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country’s GDP went up by 0.7% during the second quarter (quarter-on-quarter), above expectations of 0.5% but lower than the previous quarter’s 1.8%.
In yearly terms, the GDP rose by 9.6% during the quarter, above expectations of 9.2% and the first quarter’s 1.1%.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics linked this growth to the easing of restrictions and the recovery of the local labor market.
"Gross domestic product rose 0.7 percent this quarter, reflecting the continued easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the recovery in the labor market," stated the Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Lockdowns had minimal impact on activity overall, with fewer lockdown days and the more prolonged stay-at-home orders in NSW only commencing in the last week of June.”
Despite the good news, the spread of the Delta strain of the COVID-19 virus is threatening economic performance, as its effects on the economy are expected to be reflected in the third-quarter GDP data. This implies that the country could be facing a technical recession if the negative effects affect the performance of the economy during the fourth quarter of this year.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 55,090 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Australia, as well as 1,012 related deaths, making it one of the least affected countries in the developed world. So far, 19.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed among the local population, with 7.04 million individuals now fully vaccinated, accounting for 27.8%of the total population.
The spread of the Delta variant has pushed the Australian government to reimpose restrictions. The city of Melbourne decided to extend the lockdown given the quick rise in cases. The state of New South Wales is also dealing with a quick rise in the number of cases, reporting a record number of infections and deaths.
Since the beginning of the week, the Australian dollar has gained 0.40% against the US dollar, gaining ground for the second consecutive week and closing Tuesday’s session at the 0.7315 level. By 7:48 GMT, the Aussie gained 0.38% against the greenback, hitting the 0.7342 level.