Australia in March 2026: the most important developments in economy
Australia's economy in March 2026 saw the signing of a major trade deal with the European Union. On 24 March the EU and Australia signed a free trade agreement after eight years of negotiations, valued at between $10 billion and $110 billion. It covers agriculture, with compromises on the use of certain product names, and is intended to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals.
The war involving Iran drove a fuel and inflation crisis. The Reserve Bank raised interest rates to a 10-month high on 17 March in a split decision, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned inflation could pass 5 percent. Australia began releasing six days of petrol from its emergency stockpile on 13 March and relaxed fuel quality rules to bring in 100 million litres of fuel. By 26 March more than 500 service stations were reported out of fuel, the Prime Minister had called a second emergency national cabinet meeting, and the government was pushing supply legislation through parliament. On 30 March it cut the fuel excise tax by half. The government also considered a windfall tax on LNG producers, and the share market lost about $300 billion in value during the month before rising on 25 March on hopes of a ceasefire.
In business, Atlassian cut about 1,600 jobs, 10% of its workforce, to shift toward artificial intelligence. BHP named Brandon Craig, its Americas chief, as chief executive as it focuses on copper. China widened and then eased for one week a ban on BHP iron ore, and staff at a BHP iron ore site in Australia launched a strike vote. Lynas signed a rare earth supply deal with the US Pentagon, and the government said it would set a floor price for its planned national critical minerals reserve. A contract worker died at Rio Tinto's Kennecott mine in the United States, and Nickel Industries suspended an Indonesian mine after a worker's death.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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