Canberra, Sept 2 (AP) Australia's economy has suffered its sharpest quarterly drop since the Great Depression because of the pandemic, with data released on Wednesday confirming the country is experiencing its first recession in 28 years.

The latest national accounts showed the economy shrank 7% in the June, the biggest contraction since records began in 1959.

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Its nearest rival was a 2% fall in June 1974, an economists estimate a sharper fall in the early 1930s when Australian became one of the world's hardest countries by the Great Depression.

Combined with a smaller 0.3% drop in the March quarter, the definition of a technical recession -- two consecutive quarters of contraction — has been fulfilled. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)