Australia Q2 GDP not helping Aussie dollar

Australia’s economy grew by 0.2% in Q2 2024, which is in line with the upwardly revised 0.2% growth in the previous quarter, but missed market estimates of 0.3% growth.

Link to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Q2 2024 GDP report

The report detailed:

• Internal final application contributed 0.2% to GDP
• Government spendingdriven by social benefits for households, added 0.3% to GDP
• Net trading activities contributed 0.2% to GDP due to higher exports (+0.5%) and lower imports (-0.2%)
• Home consumption due to the reduction in discretionary spending fell 0.1% of GDP
• Inventory changes decreased by 0.3% of GDP
• Investment had no contribution to growth

On an annual basis, GDP fell from 1.1% to 1.0% in the second quarter. In fact, it is said that the economy would have stagnated had it not been for increased government spending due to extended household benefits. Yes!

Australian Dollar vs Major Currencies: 5 min

AUD chart overlay against major currencies by TradingView

The Australian dollar, which had followed a sell-off on Wall Street at the start of the Asian session, extended a brief retreat on the report’s release.

However, the weak details of the report soon took their toll and the Aussie fell near its intraday lows.

Comdoll is still in the red everywhere, with the biggest losses against CHF, CAD and EUR and the least losses against NZD, JPY and GBP.