SYDNEY — Australia’s economy extended its rapid recovery in the first quarter as consumers and businesses spent with abandon, lifting output back above where it was last year when pandemic lockdowns tipped the country into recession.
The economy expanded by a real 1.8% in the three months to December, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed. Economists in a Reuters poll had forecast a 1.5% rise following an upwardly revised 3.2% gain in the fourth quarter.
The solid back-to-back quarterly growth helped annual output climb 1.1% to A$525.7 billion ($408.05 billion), a major turnaround from last year’s recession low of $468.3 billion.
The first-qua…
Keep on reading: Australia GDP growth beats forecast, back to pre-pandemic time