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Pandemic Sends Australia Into First Recession Since 1991

VOA News

   Australia has fallen into its first recession in nearly two decades due
   to the COVID-19 pandemic.

   Data released Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate
   the country's economy shrank a full 7% in the second quarter spanning
   April to June, coming after a mild 0.3% decline in the three months
   before. The second quarter numbers marked the biggest downturn since
   records began being kept in 1959, and was far worse than the 5.9%
   forecast.

   This is the first recession for Australia since 1991. The economy was
   already under pressure from the massive wildfires earlier this year
   that destroyed more than 3,000 homes and millions of hectares of land.

   "Today's national accounts confirm the devastating impact on the
   Australian economy from COVID-19," Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told
   reporters in Canberra. "Our record run of 28 consecutive years of
   economic growth has now officially come to an end."

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