Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect Mr Jorn Oberg Utzon, at first light as the sun rises over Sydney harbor and city center skyscrapers.
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Australia’s third-quarter economic growth missed analysts’ expectations, but still clocked its fastest expansion in about two years, driven by strong investment and consumer demand.
The country’s GDP expanded 2.1% year on year, marking its strongest expansion since the third quarter of 2023 when the economy expanded at the same rate, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. GDP missed economists’ forecast for a 2.2% growth.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Australia’s GDP grew 0.4% compared with 0.7% forecast in a Reuters poll.
Domestic final demand contributed 1.1 percentage points to growth. Private investment grew at the fastest pace since March 2021, driven by business investment in machinery, equipment and major data centers across New South Wales and Victoria.
Household consumption continued to expand, led by insurance, electricity, gas, rent, healthcare and food.
Meanwhile, net trade was a major drag, denting the economy by 0.1 percentage point, as imports growth outpaced rise in exports in the three months through September.
The economic growth reading came after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock cautioned that the economy had likely already hit its potential growth limit.
At the monetary policy meeting last month, the central bank kept its interest rate unchanged at 3.6%, saying it was cautious about easing further, given a strengthening economy, tight labor market and persistent inflationary pressure.
Bullock said last month that the current interest rate cutting cycle could be close to an end, with the central bank forecasting inflation to stay above its target range of 2% to 3% until the second half of next year.
The RBA’s board meets next week and is widely expected to leave interest rates at 3.6%.
The country’s inflation accelerated in October, rising 3.8% year on year, marking its fastest pace in seven months.
In the second quarter this year, Australia’s economy expanded 1.8% year on year, compared with 1.3% in the prior quarter, underpinned by domestic spending including household and government consumption.