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Investment growth within the private business sector was a key factor in Australia’s economy accelerating in the September quarter, particularly as demand for artificial intelligence is increasing.
The gross domestic product rose 2.1% year on year, according to Wednesday’s data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This year-on-year figure, which beat the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2% growth estimate, was the fastest since 2023.
However, the quarterly growth of 0.4% was a slowdown from the previous quarter’s 0.7% rise and it also missed the market forecast of a 0.7% gain.
Private investment growth was one of the major drivers of GDP growth, contributing 0.5 percentage points. Increasing demand for AI helped boost the machinery and equipment sector.
“The rise in machinery and equipment investment reflects the ongoing expansions of data centers,” Grace Kim, ABS head of National Accounts, said. “This is likely due to firms looking to support growth in artificial intelligence and cloud computing capabilities.”
Household spending also rose 0.5% during the quarter, while public investment rebounded with a 3% growth.
Analysts believe that the latest GDP shows that the Australian economy is in good shape.
“Today’s outcome confirmed that the firmer consumer impulse seen in the last few quarters was starting to spill over into the business sector,” analysts from Westpac said.
Analysts from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia also viewed the outcome as positive news.
“The transition from public to private sector growth is well underway, with surprise strength from the consumer and business investment in the last couple of quarters entrenching a cyclical upswing in the Australian economy, driven by the private sector,” according to CBA’s notes.