Australian economy growing, exceeding pre-pandemic levels: govt

Sydney, Australia, Jun 2 (EFE).- Australia’s economy has already exceeded pre-pandemic levels, something achieved only by six countries worldwide, after growing 1.1 percent from January to March and chain three quarters of advance of its gross domestic product (GDP).

“The level of economic activity is now 0.8 percent higher than the levels of the quarter to December 2019 before the pandemic,” the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in a Wednesday statement.

The bureau said that between January and March, GDP grew by 1.1 percent compared to the same period of 2020 and by 1.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, which it attributed to the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and the labor market and exports recovery.

Consulting firm Deloitte said in a statement that, on average, OECD economies are 2.7 percent smaller than they were before the pandemic, while the United Kingdom has also contracted 9 percent, the European Union, 5 percent, and the United States, 1 percent.

“Australia is a rare case, only five other countries can boast that they now have a larger economy than before the pandemic. And we have done this by keeping Covid-19 numbers below almost anywhere else,” said Partner Kristian Kolding. from Deloitte Access Economics in Australia.

The other countries to achieve recovery from pre-pandemic levels have been China, Chile, Russia, Lithuania and South Korea.

Although Australian GDP fell 1.1 percent last year, the economy began to recover rapidly in the third and fourth quarters, experiencing year-on-year growth of 3.5 and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Australia, which has kept its borders closed since last year, has the pandemic almost under control, with 30,000 accumulated cases, although it periodically has to face outbreaks such as the recent one in the city of Melbourne. EFE

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