A trade slump over recent months will slash Australia’s economic growth.

It was due to the global economic crisis.

The slump is expected to slash 1.8 per cent  – by volume  – from the nation’s  economic growth for the  September quarter.

These developments were reported in September quarter balance of payments figures, which the Bureau of Statistics has just released.

Its figures show that the nation chalked up a current account deficit of $16.2  billion, on seasonally adjusted figures in the quarter.

That compares with a deficit of $13.1 billion in the June quarter.

Export prices fell by 19.5 per cent, in the 12 months to the end of September, the biggest annual fall seen, since records were first kept in their present form, back in 1959.

The Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, said this reflects “the dramatic impacts of the global recession.”

Export volumes, fell by 2.3 per cent in the September quarter and 0.2 per cent over the year.

Import volumes rose by 5.8 per cent in the September quarter,  but were still 8.2 per cent lower over the year.

Fortunately, import prices fell even more sharply than export prices.

The bureau also reported that Australia’s net foreign debt rose to $637.5 billion in the September quarter.

That compares with $634.2 billion in the June quarter.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Australia had a deficit of  $5.4 billion on its goods and services account in the September quarter.

This compares with a deficit of almost $1.2 billion in the June quarter.