AUSTRALIA'S economic growth rate has surprised analysts, with the economy growing by 3.6 per cent over the year to March 31, with household's adding to the expansion.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6 per cent in the March quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.
This compared with an upwardly revised rise of 0.7 per cent in the December quarter.
Analysts had expected the economy to grow 0.3 per cent in the March quarter and 2.9 per cent over the year.
The March quarter growth figures are the first for which the Rudd Government assumes full responsibility since winning the November election.
The surprise jump will provide the Government will strong ammunition to the federal's opposition questions on its economic credentials.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the main contributors to the increase in expenditure on GDP were household consumption, despite higher interest rates, indicating Australia's were still happy to spend over the first three months of the year.
Engineering construction and defence investment also added to the expansion.
The release of the latest GDP figures comes a day after some more positive news for the Government with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) yesterday leaving the official cash rate unchanged at 7.25 per cent.
