National

Australia's economy expands 0.2pct in March quarter

By AAP Newswire

Jun 7, 2023

Container ships at Port Botany in Sydney — Australia's GDP figure for the March quarter was 0.2 per cent, slightly lower than expected. -AAP Image

The Australian economy grew 0.2 per cent in the March quarter, following a 0.6 per cent lift in the three months to December.

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On an annual basis, gross domestic product as calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics lifted 2.3 per cent.

The numbers came in slightly lower than the 0.3 per cent quarterly rise expected by markets.

ABS head of national accounts Katherine Keenan said this was the slowest growth since the Delta COVID-19 lockdowns in the September quarter of 2021.

"Private and public gross fixed capital formation were the main drivers of GDP growth this quarter," Ms Keenan said.

Gross domestic product is the primary way that activity in the economy is measured.

Spending by consumers, government and business, as well as investment and the difference between exports and imports, are all fed into the quarterly growth numbers.

The quarterly health check on the economy will be watched by the Reserve Bank as it aims to bring down inflation while still allowing the economy to grow.

On Tuesday, the central bank hiked by another 25 basis points, taking the cash rate to 4.1 per cent.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press