The coronavirus lockdown in Australia's Victoria state will "weigh heavily" on the country's September-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Wednesday.
"Obviously a real challenge exists in Victoria," Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra, following the release of second quarter GDP data.
"Treasury forecasts the events in Victoria are expected to reduce GDP by A$10-A$12 billion in the September quarter. And we are expecting to see up to 400,000 lose their jobs or see their hours reduced to zero."
Australia's A$2 trillion ($1.47 trillion) economy shrank by 7% in the June quarter, confirming the country's first recession in about three decades, data out earlier showed.
($1 = 1.3602 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose and Swati Pandey)
