RBA Governor Philip Lowe said today that the economy will likely contract by around -10% in the first half. Most of the decline would take place in Q2 due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, unemployment rate could jump from March’s 5.2% to around 10% by June.
He also sounded cautious regarding the post pandemic recovery. “Whatever the timing of the recovery, when it does come, we should not be expecting that we will return quickly to business as usual,” he said. “Rather, the twin health and economic emergencies that we are experiencing now will cast a shadow over our economy for some time to come.”
