Australia’s GDP hits 3.1% due to mining exports

Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 1% in the first quarter of 2018, allowing the economy to expand at the fastest annual rate in two years.

The nation’s GDP rose from the revised 0.5% in the final quarter of 2017 ending December.

The country has now entered it’s 27th year of expansion with recession, with Australia’s annual growth reaching 3.1%, up from the final quarter results of 2.4%.

Australia anticipates that the recent growth is due to mining commodity exports.

“Production of coal, iron ore and liquefied natural gas showed strong increases,” remarked the Bureau of Statistics.

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Half of the nation’s GDP was made up of exports, with around a third accounted for by government spending.

However, despite the economy’s expansion, there are concerns around global trade and household consumption.

“While recent data does point to an acceleration in March-quarter GDP growth, there have been numerous growth spikes in Australia to around 1 percent, quarter-on-quarter, in recent years only to be followed by a cooling again,” stated Shane Oliver, Chief Economist at AMP, Reuters reported.

“Uncertainty remains around the outlook for consumer spending: Household debt is high, banks are tightening lending standards, wage growth and inflation remain low and will pick up only gradually, and house prices are falling.”