Big numbers this week

We should get a better picture of the Australian economy this week.

The June quarter national accounts, which the Statistician is planning to release on Wednesday, will be particularly important.

Americans learnt last week that the US economy shrank by 1 per cent, in that quarter.

Even that figure was welcomed, as most economists had expected an even worse result.

Australia’s growth is expected to be stronger than that.

However, Wayne Swan is still urging caution.

The Australian Treasurer warns that the nation’s road to recovery will still be “long and very bumpy.”

In his weekly economic note (www.treasurer.gov.au) Mr Swan describes the June quarter national accounts as “all important.”

There is no risk, though, of these figures tipping Australia into a technical recession.

That requires two successive quarters of negative growth.

And the March quarter National Accounts showed that the Australian economy grew by an admittedly glacial 0.4 per cent earlier this year.

The national accounts, though, won’t be the only important figures to be released this week.

The Bureau is also planning to release its business indicators for the June quarter today and its balance of payments figures, for the same period tomorrow, along with its building approval statistics for July.

It will also publish its international trade figures for July on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Wayne Swan will be travelling to London this week, for a G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting.

He said those attending that meeting would be working to ensure they are doing all they can to keep the world out of global recession.