SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s economy shrank last quarter, setting the scene for what could be Australia’s first technical recession in three decades and ending one of the world’s longest growth streaks as entire business sectors shut down to fight the coronavirus.
Wednesday’s data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the economy contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter ended March, the first drop in nine years.
That took the annual pace to 1.4%, well below the 2.75% that policy makers consider “trend”.
(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
