CANBERRA, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has promised to “take the necessary actions” to keep the nation’s economy in a strong position.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Thursday shed more than 63 billion Australian dollars (42.6 billion U.S. dollars), its worst fall in a single day for 18 months, amid fears of an impending recession in the United States.

It comes only weeks after the ASX hit a record high on July 30, with market analysts predicting further falls on Friday.

“We will continue to closely monitor global economic events and will take the necessary actions to ensure our economy continues to grow to the benefit of all Australians,” Josh Frydenberg said during an appearance on Nine Network television on Friday.

“But with strong foundations, our economy is positioned as well as any nation to withstand these challenges.”

Frydenberg has argued that the government’s commitment to spending 100 billion Australian dollars (67.7 billion USD) on infrastructure over the next decade will keep the economy moving but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has called for greater infrastructure investment.

“Spending on infrastructure not only adds to demand in the economy but, done properly, it can boost the economy’s productivity,” RBA governor Philip Lowe told a parliamentary economics committee earlier in August.

“At the moment, there are some capacity constraints in parts of the infrastructure sector, but these should not prevent us from looking for further opportunities to boost the economy’s productive capacity and support domestic demand.”

Infrastructure Australia, a government agency, on Tuesday released a report that found the government must spend 600 billion Australian dollars (406 billion USD) on infrastructure over the next 15 years to keep up with demand.

Speaking to reporters in Perth on Thursday, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said he was confident the economy was heading in the right direction. Enditem

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