- Home
- About us
- Visas and migration
- Travelling to Australia
- Services for Australians
- Doing business with Australia
- Study in Australia
- Media
- About Australia
- Australia- Canada relationship
- Events
AUSTRALIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH – UP POINT 9 PER CENT IN SEPTEMBER QUARTER
Australia’s economic growth indicator – the GDP - recorded a marginal growth increase in the September 2007 quarter according to the latest figures issued by the Australia Bureau of Statistics.
In the three months to Sept 2007, both GDP and Non-farm GDP increased in trend terms by 0.9 per cent over the previous quarter. This was a 4.0 per cent growth over the previous 12 months since September 2006.
GDP per hours worked in the labour market sector fell 0.2 per cent and the Household saving ratio was 3.3.
In seasonally-adjusted terms, Australia’s GDP increased by 1.0 per cent in the September quarter (4.3 per over 12 months). Non-farm GDP increased by 0.6 per cent. The terms of trade decreased 0.8 per cent - the first fall since December quarter 2001.
Real gross domestic income rose 0.8 per cent. In seasonally adjusted terms, the main contributors to the increase in consumer expenditure on GDP were Household final consumption expenditure (up 0.7 percentage points), exports of goods and services (up 0.5 percentage points) and changes in private non-farm inventories (up 0.3 percentage points). The largest negative contribution came from imports of goods and services (a drop of 0.5 per cent).
Industry’s value added performance (in seasonally-adjusted terms) was the largest contributor to GDP growth - including input from agriculture, forestry and fishing (up 0.4 percentage points) and Finance and insurance (up 0.2 per cent).
Mining value added activity detracted 0.2 percentage points from GDP growth.
Australia’s general cost of living also rose marginally during the September Quarter 2007 with the Consumer Price Index rising by 0.7 per cent in the September quarter 2007, compared with a rise of 1.2 per cent in the June quarter.
The All Groups Index rose 1.9 per cent for the 12 months to the September quarter 2007. Major contributors to these price rises were: fruit (up 9.6 per cent), vegetables (up 7.9 per cent), deposits and loan facilities (up 2.2 per cent), rents (up 1.6 per cent, other financial services (up 2.3 per cent).
The cost of buying a house rose by 1.0 per cent; while electricity costs rose 4.3 per cent, property rates and charges ( up 4.5per cent), water and sewerage (up 5.5 per cent).
For Australians wanting holidays abroad, overseas holiday travel and accommodation costs rose 4.2 per cent, while domestic holiday travel and accommodation rose 1.8 per cent).
Conversely, the September 2007 quarter brought some good news for many Australians with a significant fall in child care costs through a legislative change in the eligibility criteria for the Child Care Tax Rebate. Child care costs were down 33.4 per cent during the period.
Other CPI components to see price reductions were: pharmaceuticals (down 4.5 per cent) and automotive fuel (down 3.7 per cent) although other motoring charges rose by 2.6 per cent).
In its December 2007 Monetary Policy Statement, the Reserve Bank of Australia said that information continued to indicate strength in demand and output in Australia, with the economy having relatively little surplus capacity.
Inflation on a year ended basis, as measured by the CPI and underlying measures, was likely to be above 3 per cent in the first half of 2008, and could decline somewhat thereafter.
The RBA Board remained concerned about the outlook for inflation saying that given the heightened uncertainty about the international outlook and the local trends in wholesale borrowing costs, both of which could have a bearing on inflation over the medium term, the RBA judged that the current stance of monetary policy should be maintained for the time being.
Canberra
10 January 2007