Australias manufacturing activity weakened in the first quarter to an 18-year low, figures released Thursday showed, in the latest sign of a looming recession. The Westpac-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) index of industrial trends fell to 34.0 points in the March quarter, from 40.4 in the fourth quarter of 2008, to hit its lowest level since 1991.
An accompanying measure of business confidence edged up slightly from 33.8 to 34.0, but was still around 1990 levels, when Australia last experienced an economic slowdown. Investment plans plunged to their lowest level since 1982, while the surveys index of the labour market slumped 17 points to 33, indicating a rapid deterioration in employment growth.
A slew of poor data accompanied the indexs release, with imports slumping four percent in original terms to 16.6 billion dollars in February, including a 13 percent decline in foreign consumption goods, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. New car sales fell 3.5 percent in February, while new housing starts in the December quarter slipped 9.9 percent, taking the total fall to 19.5 percent over the past 12 months, the bureau said.