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Australian Treasury says not expecting recession in 2023

CANBERRA
2023-02-08 12:07

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CANBERRA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Treasurer has said the country is not on track for a recession despite a forecast economic downturn.

Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday the Treasury does not expect a recession in 2023 despite that the central bank on Tuesday again raised interest rates.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday raised interest rates for the ninth meeting in a row to 3.35 percent.

Making the announcement, RBA governor Philip Lowe said he expects further increases will be needed to ensure inflation returns to target.

Responding to the move, Chalmers said there were signs inflation has begun to moderate.

"The expectation of the Treasury forecasters is higher interest rates combined with difficult global conditions will slow our economy considerably, but they don't expect at this point a recession here in Australia," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

"There is of course, as the RBA governor acknowledged in the statement yesterday, the fact that when interest rates go up, people with a mortgage feel it immediately but the impact on the economy takes a little while to flow through."

Australia's inflation hit 7.8 percent in the 12 months to December, the highest it has been since 1990, with housing costs rising 10.7 percent.

Stephen Jones, the assistant treasurer, said that Tuesday's rate rise should mark the peak of the monetary tightening cycle, warning that households are "doing it tough."

"We think that inflation has peaked and it is starting to turn around," he told Sky News on Wednesday.

"So we're hoping that this is, if not the last, then nearly the last of the interest rate increases."
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