Something weird is happening in the Australian economy, but it won’t phase the RBA yet.
Australian consumers are usually the engine room of the economy. Every extra dollar we spend drives economic growth higher – and there’s so many of us that we’re usually a force to be reckoned with. In the three months to September, though, something strange happened.
The size of our economy can be measured in at least three ways: output , income or by looking at all the spending that happens. Back to households, though. It’s not all bad news. We actually spent a touch more on discretionary goods and services – things we may notbut are nice to have, such as new clothing and recreation. Spending on essentials, meanwhile, fell. We spent more on things such as rent and staying healthy, but dished out far less on electricity and gas thanks to a warmer-than-expected winter, and partly thanks to the government’s energy bill relief that took the heat out of our energy bills.
The household ratio of saving to income – which tells us how much of our disposable income we stowed away for a rainy day – grew from 2.4 per cent last quarter to 3.2 per cent. Since our incomes grew, but we weren’tany more than we were in the June quarter, the slice of our pay going towards savings increased.
A big driver of our economic growth was spending – not by households or businesses – but by the government. It contributed 0.6 percentage points to growth in the three months to September. Part of this was thanks to a pick-up in public investment by state and local governments on infrastructure projects such as roads and renewable projects.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Australian families will pay the price’: Labor slammed over RBA reformLabor’s efforts to reform the Reserve Bank of Australia’s structure has come under fire as the move, which will require support from the Greens, could mean the minor party demands the Albanese government force a rate cut.
Read more »
Big names and storylines create intrigue for Australian PGA Championship and Australian OpenAustralia's golf majors are upon us and such is the enormity of the boom across the sport since COVID, there is no more yearning for the big overseas star that the Aussie tour felt it needed for so long.
Read more »
Donald Trump and the one big threat to Australia's almost $4 trillion superannuation systemThe IMF and RBA are worried those risks may end up denting millions of account balances.
Read more »
Labor secures path for 27 bills, including RBA reformsThe government whittled back a list of 36 bills it wanted passed; Lidia Thorpe addresses protesters, drops profanity about King. Follow live updates.
Read more »
Labor secures path for 27 bills, including RBA reformsThe government whittled back a list of 36 bills it wanted passed; Lidia Thorpe addresses protesters, drops profanity about King. Follow live updates.
Read more »
Labor secures path for 27 bills, including RBA reformsThe government whittled back a list of 36 bills it wanted passed; Lidia Thorpe addresses protesters, drops profanity about King. Follow live updates.
Read more »