Australia has kept its triple-A credit rating and is expected to lower its budget deficit considerably as the country wraps up stimulus measures and its economy recovers from the COVID-19 downturn, according to U.S. credit rating agency, S&P. The global authority in credit rating had anticipated that Australia would experience economic growth in the December quarter as state governments lifted restrictions in line with the growing vaccination rate, and after the 2021 lockdowns ended. S&P also observed that the unemployment rate quickly bounced back to 4.2 percent in December, which the country has seldom achieved since 2008. “We do not expect to see a large increase in spending initiatives that would substantially weaken fiscal accounts in the next budget or in the lead-up to the Commonwealth election,” S&P Global Ratings analyst Anthony Walker said. “Nor do we expect further lockdowns to derail our expected fiscal recovery at the general government …