Australian Treasurer Frydenberg: Will raise 2022 economic growth forecast

“It is too early to estimate the impact from the Omicron coronavirus variant on the economic outlook,” said Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, per Reuters quoting comments from Australian Broadcast Corporation's "Insiders" program, published during late Sunday.

“Frydenberg is due to deliver an update to the budget in coming weeks, halfway through Australia's fiscal year which ends in June,” the news adds.

Key quotes

The market is coming back strongly.

That comes as a result of the fact that we now have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, one of the lowest mortality rates in the world.

Asked whether Omicron, the new variant that has also been spreading in Australia, would pose a threat to the economic outlook, as indicated by the International Monetary Fund, Frydenberg said there should be no panic.

He did not say whether the expected upgrade to growth would be for 2022 calendar year of fiscal year, which start in July. The budget released in May forecast a 4.5% expansion for the 2021-22 fiscal year before slowing to 2.5% the following year.

FX implications

The news should have helped the AUD/USD prices to consolidate losses around the yearly bottom, up 0.18% intraday near 0.7016 at the latest.

Read: AUD/USD is poised for further downside, but not before a correction