“Through the year growth remains positive at 1.8 per cent, reflecting the three previous quarters of growth.“According to the ABS, the decline in the construction industry, which registered a 3.6 percent drop due to lower investment in building activity, had the biggest effect on the GDP calculation. Sub-optimal growth numbers were also seen in the financial and insurance industries.
Additionally, the ABS also states that the growth in the agricultural sector helped offset the declines in most other industries:
“The largest offset to these falls was agriculture which grew 7.5 per cent. Mining production contributed no growth, but maintained its historically high levels of production.“
Currency Impact:
The Forex market did not respond very well to the bad economic figures. Yesterday, the Australian dollar lost 0.65 percent against the U.S. dollar in the space of 30 minutes, following the release the negative GDP print - the first one since May of 2011. However, today, the Australian currency gained 0.89 percent against the greenback, as bad consumer credit news coming out of the U.S. pushed the dollar lower.
