Australia’s GDP expands 0.6% in Q4, beats estimates

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Australia’s Q3 GDP came at 0.6% vs expected +0.4% and prior of +0.9%, with the y/y read standing at +3.0 % vs expected +2.5% and prior of 2.5%.

Q4 key points

The December quarter 2015 National accounts show the Australian economy growing by 0.6% in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms.

The major contribution to economic growth this quarter came from Household final consumption expenditure, which contributed 0.4 percentage points, and Public gross fixed capital formation, which contributed 0.2 percentage points to GDP growth.

The growth in Household final consumption expenditure is reflected in growth in the service industries of Information, media and telecommunications (2.7%), Retail trade (1.0%), and Arts and recreation services (2.2%).

These positive contributions were offset by a fall in Private gross fixed capital formation of 1.9%, driven by falls in New engineering construction, which detracted 0.6 percentage points from GDP growth.

Exports and Imports both rose by 0.6% in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms.