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| Australia's economy expands 2.5%, led by mining | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Australia's economy grew more than expected in the third quarter of 2011, driven by building and mining activity. | Australia's economy grew more than expected in the third quarter of 2011, driven by building and mining activity. |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 2.5% between June and September compared to the same period last year, the href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/6619F5F5CB8B7873CA25768D0021EDEA?OpenDocument" >statistical bureau said. | |
| Analysts were expecting an increase of 2.1%. The Australian dollar rose slightly on the news. | Analysts were expecting an increase of 2.1%. The Australian dollar rose slightly on the news. |
| On Tuesday Australia's central bank cut interest rates, citing a slowdown in Europe. | On Tuesday Australia's central bank cut interest rates, citing a slowdown in Europe. |
| Within the quarter itself, the economy grew by 1%. That compares to a revised figure of 1.4% for the previous quarter, April to June. | |
| The numbers highlight how differently Australia's economy is faring compared to those in the US and Europe. | |
| "We see solid growth right through next year, which is diametrically opposite to what most of the developed world can look forward to," said Brian Redican from Macquarie. | |
| Weak outlook? | |
| However Wednesday's figures reflect the period before the European debt crisis started weighing on demand from Asia. | |
| The weaker outlook is what prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, to spur domestic demand. | |
| It was the second rate cut in as many months. | |
| "It seems likely to us that by the next [RBA] meeting, the outlook for global growth will be worse and we expect the next inflation outcome, due in late January, to be another low reading," said Rob Henderson, head of market economics at NAB. | |
| Huge boom | |
| Still, Wednesday's data underlined the continuing health of the resource industry, as miners expanded output to meet the needs of China and India. | |
| Business spending added 2.1 percentage points to GDP growth. Engineering construction rose 31% in the quarter. | |
| Household consumption grew 1.2%, the data showed, adding 0.7 percentage points to GDP. |