Fed: Current account deficit hits record high
CANBERRA, Aug 28 AAP - Australia's current account deficit hit another record highin the June quarter as the drought, the impact of SARS and the weak world environmenttook their toll on the economy.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said the deficit blew out by almost $2.5billion to a record $12.69 billion, the largest ever recorded in dollar terms.
The current account deficit, a snapshot of all Australia's dealings with the outsideworld, has suffered in the last three quarters as the drought, the weak world economyand the impact of SARS depressed exports.
Meanwhile, strong domestic demand has sucked in imports.
The ABS said June's 24 per cent blowout in the current account deficit would cut about1.5 percentage points from economic growth in the quarter.
But overseas debt fell by $3 billion to $359 billion.
The previous record was set in December, when the deficit hit $11.2 billion, or sixper cent of gross domestic product.
Separate figures today showed business investment rose just 1.6 per cent in the Junequarter, less than economists had been expecting.
The ABS said capital spending was 14.6 per cent higher than the same time last year,allowing for seasonal influences.
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KEYWORD: ECONOMY
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