Australian GDP posts growth

Australia lived up to its “lucky country” nickname on Wednesday, posting the strongest annual economic expansion in nearly two years last quarter and extending a 27-year run of recession-free growth.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by one per cent in the first quarter, from an upwardly revised 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, while annual growth jumped to 3.1 per cent from the December quarter’s 2.4 per cent.

The last time the economy ran that fast was in the second quarter of 2016.

Wednesday’s result just beat market forecasts for growth of 0.9 per cent in the quarter and 2.8 per cent on-year.