Australia’s growth streak could keep on running

The Reserve Bank of Australia is penciling in a 10% fall in output in the first half of this year.

SYDNEY: Australia’s record run without a technical recession - defined locally as two consecutive quarters of contraction - has a slim chance of continuing in what would be another dramatic escape for the world’s longest economic growth streak.

Frenzied stockpiling of food, toilet paper and other household items ahead of the coronavirus lockdown boosted spending in the first quarter. And exports surged in March while imports fell. Those factors may just be enough to have kept the economy growing during the first three months of 2020.