Australia’s economy grew a solid 0.5 per cent in the second quarter and 3.3 per cent over the year, its fastest pace of annual growth in 4 years.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says strong government spending drove growth in the quarter. With Economists on average had tipped quarterly growth of 0.6 per cent and annual growth of 3.3 per cent.
Quarterly growth also slowed significantly from the 1.0 per cent clip posted for the first quarter, but that did not come as a surprise as most of that quarter’s growth was due to a surge in exports, which was unlikely to be repeated.
“Despite a net exports subtraction, public demand is absolutely booming, with our analysis showing public capex is likely to accelerate further ahead,” UBS economist George Tharenou
In another bright spot, the terms of trade rose by 2.3 per cent the second quarter, adding to income growth for the first time in three years, with real gross domestic income rising 0.9 per cent over the quarter and real net national disposable income rising 0.2 per cent.
Read the full article here: SMH Article