1 November 2012

The Australian Resources Economy – the glass is still “half full”


This morning saw the 36th Annual National AMPLA Conference in Brisbane officially kick off with key note address from Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics, providing an overall insight into the complexities of the Australian resources supply/demand economy and external influencing factors, as well as a general overview as to the significance of the resources sector to the Australian Economy.

While there has been some significant nervousness and negative opinions surrounding the market of late, the address provided a timely reminder to the industry that while a cautious approach is perhaps warranted, Australia still remains in a relatively positive position (particularly as against the US/European economies) with further growth opportunities still to come.

The key takeaway points on the market for the industry were:
  • Australia is still going well, but unlikely to see the same growth from recent times as China demand slows, but we should retain “a glass half full” attitude;
  •  Workforce demand vs. workers, interest rates, high aussie dollar and excess gas in the US are all having effect on the Australian resources demand;
  •  The future maybe more about stability - changes to a more democratic system in China may also temporarily slow demand from China; and
  • Growth in India (which is typically 15yrs behind China) will increase demand from Australia but may be unlikely to be as great as in China.

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