Economic Perspective 17 July 2026
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
The Latest Trending Economic News Curated for You by Balmoral Group Australia
Hello Dear Readers,
Several notable industry updates across the trade, labor and energy sectors are worth keeping an eye on this week. In trade, the US sheep industry is pushing to protect against more competitive Australian products, potentially leading to fresh tariffs for already hard-going Aussie lamb producers. Meanwhile, industrial action has paused BHP iron ore operations at Port Hedland due to concerns over the vulnerability created by highly prevalent individual employment contracts.
In the energy and technology space, CSIRO's latest GenCost report reveals new findings and projections in energy tech costs, with this week's data visualisation showing how battery costs have dipped below that of new gas equipment. Finally, the government plans to fast track data centres accompanied by requirements to underwrite new energy projects.
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Happy reading and have a lovely weekend!
GenCost at Eight: how a decade of disruption reshaped the future of Australia’s energy system
On Wednesday CSIRO released this year's GenCost report, finding that batteries continue to reduce costs and renewables supported by storage remains the lowest cost path, with solar PV and onshore wind projected to supply 93% of electricity by 2050. However, new energy tech, including renewables, ocean energy, fuel cells, and nuclear, remain difficult to cost-project due to first-of-a-kind technical and social hurdles. Interestingly, gas turbine demand from US data centres is increasing the costs of gas-based technology, and for long-term costs, the report estimates that by 2050 all new electricity generation tech will cost more than $100/MWh due to replacement of aging assets. Find additional findings in the report here.
US global trade investigation targets Australian lamb imports
The US International Trade Commission is investigating whether to impose additional tariffs on lamb imports, of which 70-75% comes from Australian producers. In October of last year the American Sheep Industry Association claimed that cheaper lamb imports were displacing local production, and is pushing for increased trade protections to help American lamb. Australian lamb and mutton imports to the US are currently slapped with a 10% tariff, and farmers want to avoid further tariffs or quotas. Government advocacy efforts are led by Ag Minister Julie Collins, and AMIC is confident that Australia can respond with a strong evidence-based case for the mutual benefits of trade. Read more here.
BHP’s first port strike in 26 years rattles iron ore supply
Employees at BHP's Port Hedland operations in WA launched an eight-hour stoppage strike, the first one in 26 years at the company's Pilbara hub, after failed negotiations. Port Hedland is the world's largest bulk-export terminal; around 575 million tonnes of iron ore moved through the port last year across the major mining corporations. Unions are concerned that BHP's reliance on individual employment contracts creates inconsistency amongst worker arrangements. BHP has tabled a draft agreement covering pay rises and allowances, and plans to hold further discussions next week. BHP's Sydney-listed shares fell 2.3% and iron ore futures in Singapore climbed to $102/tonne earlier this week, their highest since July 2nd, signally potential global market responses. Read more here.
The data centre boom won’t mean higher power prices – if we unlock stalled renewable projects
Some of the world's largest data centres are planned on the outskirts of major Australian cities, and the government plans to fast track them. However, regulations would require these new large data centres to underwrite additional power supply, injecting as much energy into the grid as they remove. This is especially opportune for renewables: with many solar and wind projects stuck in limbo awaiting grid connections, data centres may provide the certainty of a reliable customer needed for frozen energy projects to thaw. Read more here.
Battery building costs are now cheaper than new gas
The figure below from CSIRO's newest Gencost report shows historical and projected capital costs for 4-hour battery energy storage systems and large open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs). The rising costs of OCGTs can be in part attributed to surging demand from data centres who use the equipment to generate energy on-site.
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