Australian’s economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the September quarter, following growth of 0.7 per cent in the June quarter.
It means the economy is now growing at an annual rate of 2.1 per cent, up from 2 per cent in the middle of the year.
Growth in the September quarter was driven by private investment and household consumption, while changes in inventories detracted from growth as inventories were run down to support exports.
Grace Kim, ABS head of national accounts, said GDP per person was flat for the quarter as economic growth matched population growth.
In the Reserve Bank’s most recent forecasts, the RBA was forecasting the economy to be growing at an annual pace of 2 per cent by the end of December.
Investment in data centres drives private investment
Ms Kim said private investment contributed 0.5 percentage points to GDP growth in the September quarter.
That was driven by machinery and equipment investment, which rose 7.6 per cent. The rise aligned with an increase in imports of capital goods.
“The rise in machinery and equipment investment reflects the ongoing expansions of data centres,” Ms Kim said.
“This is likely due to firms looking to support growth in artificial intelligence and cloud computing capabilities.”National AI Plan drops ‘mandatory guardrails’ for artificial intelligence
Increased investor demand for housing fed into high real estate turnover and a rise in dwelling construction.
Housing investment contributed 0.2 percentage points to GDP growth in the September quarter.
Public investment grew by 3 per cent in the September quarter, rebounding from a 3.5 per cent fall in the June quarter.
Public corporations drove the rise, with investment growth in renewable energy, water, telecommunications and rail transport projects.
State and local government investment grew 1.4 per cent in the quarter but remained 2.4 per cent lower than a year ago.
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