Australian shares fell sharply on global trade worries and frail cues from other Asian indices. Falling global commodity prices are also hurting the mood. The S&P/ASX 200 index is down 2.23% at 6491. The index had hit a seven week high around 6750 in third week of September before pulling back. Today's plunge has bought the index near six week low. Mining giant BHP is down 2.70% on the day as global Copper process tested around four week low. World merchandise trade volumes are now expected to rise by only 1.2% in 2019, substantially slower than the 2.6% growth forecast in April, according to WTO. The projected increase in 2020 is now 2.7%, down from 3.0% previously. This is worrying investors globally.
Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut official interest rates to 0.75%, bringing the cash rate to a historical low amid rising concerns about the state of the economy. The move, which was tipped by markets, comes on the back of rising unemployment and stubbornly low wages growth.
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