Australia's economic activity lowest since 1982

---

SYDNEY, Apr 15 (AFP): Australia's economic activity contracted 0.3 per cent in February to its lowest level since 1982, according to an index released today by one of the country's largest banks.
The monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index, which predicts the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future, was -5.1 per cent in February, pointing to a rapid slide into recession.
"The rate of deterioration of the growth rate of the leading index is truly remarkable," said Bill Evans, Westpac's chief economist.
Australia recorded its first quarter of negative growth in eight years in the final three months of 2008.
Most economists predict a similar result in the current quarter, which would officially put Australia in recession, usually defined as two successive quarters of negative growth.
Evans said the consistent run of negative annualised growth readings from +0.5 per cent in September to the current -5.1 per cent was "disturbing" when compared with the milder trajectory of the last recession in the early 1990s.
Global economic conditions were also much worse at this stage than in the previous recession, he said.
"The low point of world growth in that period was 1.5 per cent in 1991, whereas we expect the world economy to actually contract by one per cent in 2009, the first time since World War II," Evans said.