AUSTRALIA

Drought Continues: Much of central and eastern Australia is being devastated by a fourth consecutive year of low rainfall. A prolonged drought could slow the nation’s growth, blunt government plans to whittle the budget deficit and aggravate the country’s trade deficit, analysts said. Agricultural products account for about a third of exports and contribute billions of dollars a year to export earnings. Forecasts call for below-average rainfall in most major agricultural areas for the next three months.