Australian economy not immune to global slowdown: treasurer
AUSTRALIA will not be immune to a slowdown in the global economy but is expected to avoid a recession even as the situation across the world becomes “more complex and more challenging”, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday trimmed its 2023 global growth outlook as higher interest rates cool activity but warned that a severe flare-up of financial system turmoil could slash output to near recessionary levels.
Chalmers said the Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia continued to expect that the Australian economy would “slow considerably” later this year but were not currently expecting a recession at home.
“We have got a lot coming at us from around the world but we got a lot going for us as well,” Chalmers told ABC Radio in an interview ahead of his departure to the United States to attend the World Bank and IMF spring meetings this week.
“We’ve got low unemployment, we’re getting good prices for our exports, we’re seeing the beginnings of wages growth ... so we’ve got some advantages.”
The meetings with the other leaders in Washington, D.C. will help him assess the latest trends in the global economy ahead of the federal budget next month, Chalmers said.
“I think this budget in particular is going to need to strike some pretty fine balances,” Chalmers said.
The Australian government is looking to provide relief in the budget for households fighting higher living costs, without adding to inflation, which now is at a 30-year high. REUTERS
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