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Economy may have just hit pre-COVID levels

  • April 12 2021
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Invest

Economy may have just hit pre-COVID levels

By Cameron Micallef
April 12 2021

The Australian economy is tipped to bounce back to its pre-pandemic level within weeks, according to the IMF.

Economy may have just hit pre-COVID levels

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  • April 12 2021
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The Australian economy is tipped to bounce back to its pre-pandemic level within weeks, according to the IMF.

Economy to bounce back

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Australia is likely to have reached its pre-COVID economic levels as of the March quarter, which could help limit long-term scarring.

The IMF’s latest economic outlook sees the Australian economy expanding by 4.5 per cent this year, up 1 per cent on its January predictions following a contraction of 2.4 per cent in 2020.

In upgrading its outlook, the IMF noted that the “Australian economy continues to show a strong recovery momentum” and that a “favourable labour market recovery continues to support a strong rebound in private consumption, added by wealth effects from rising house prices”.

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It also stated that record-low interest rates are continuing to boost the economic recovery.

Economy to bounce back

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg pointed to the government’s economic recovery plan, which includes tax cuts, business investment, infrastructure and targeted support as a further boost to the economy.

“These household and business incentives will help to unlock the more than $240 billion of savings accumulated throughout the pandemic and sitting on private sector balance sheets,” he said.

According to the forecast, Australia also continues to compare remarkably well to other nations, with the IMF forecasting Japan’s economy to grow by 3.3 per cent, Germany by 3.6 per cent and Italy by 4.2 per cent.

“Encouragingly, global growth has also been revised up by 0.5 percentage points to 6.0 per cent in 2021 and by 0.2 percentage points to 4.4 per cent in 2022.”

“Having outperformed all major advanced economies on the economic front in the last 12 months, there is no other country you would rather be in than Australia,” Mr Frydenberg concluded.

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About the author

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Cameron is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He enjoys giving Aussies practical financial tips and tricks to help grow their wealth and achieve financial independence. As a self-confessed finance nerd, Cameron enjoys chatting with industry experts and commentators to leverage their insights to grow your portfolio.

About the author

author image
Cameron Micallef

Cameron is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He enjoys giving Aussies practical financial tips and tricks to help grow their wealth and achieve financial independence. As a self-confessed finance nerd, Cameron enjoys chatting with industry experts and commentators to leverage their insights to grow your portfolio.

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