FILE PHOTO: A view of the Central Business District and surrounding city is seen from the Sydney Tower Eye observation deck in Sydney, Australia, August 28, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
November 29, 2021
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian firms ran down inventories by more than expected in the third quarter in a likely drag on economic growth, while company profits rose thanks in part to government subsidies amid coronavirus lockdowns.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Monday showed inventories fell 1.9% in the third quarter, when analysts had forecast a flat outcome. That may have taken around 0.6 percentage points from gross domestic product, which was already seen falling sharply due to the lockdowns.
Company gross operating profits rose 4.0% in the quarter, while the wages bill fell 0.8% due to stay-at-home orders in Sydney and Melbourne.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Source: One America News Network
