Key points

• Management of the Delta variant of COVID remains the dominant factor influencing the Australian economy.
• The costs of lockdowns are accumulating in Australia while the rest of the world is finding ways to live alongside COVID.
• The Australian economy’s ability to get on a sustainable growth footing once vaccination targets are reached remains the key question.
• In respect of the rest of the world, developments in China’s property market have uncovered a key source of risk to China’s recovery which could have spillovers to Australia.

Download: Chief economist's update, October 2021