Money, Business and Finance

Is the Australian economy starting to flounder?

by Mark Benson on June 9, 2013

Is the Australian economy starting to flounder?

Anyone who calls the top of the Australian economy is very brave because time and time again in recent times the economy has remained strong. This has historically been based upon the natural resources industry with mining a particularly strong element of the economy over the last decade. However, there are tentative signs that the economy may well be slowing, that non-mining sectors are not taking up the slack and a slowdown in China and India is beginning to hit home.

Recent economic data

While growth of 0.6% for the first three months of 2013 is still fairly impressive, the annual growth of 2.5% over the last 12 months compares to expected growth of 2.7%. While it is not yet time to panic there are tentative signs that the economy is beginning to struggle. There are a couple of issues which stand out in relation to recent economic growth with investment starting to fall back while exports and consumer spending have increased. [click to continue…]

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