Australia’s GDP for Q3 showed a modest increase of 0.2% qoq, falling short of the expected 0.5% qoq growth. On a year-on-year basis, GDP grew by 2.1%. However, a contrasting picture emerges when considering GDP on a per capita basis, which revealed a decline of -0.5% qoq and a -0.3% yoy.
Katherine Keenan, ABS head of national accounts, said: “This was the eighth straight rise in quarterly GDP, but growth has slowed over 2023.” She pointed out that government spending and capital investment were the primary contributors to GDP growth in this quarter.
Specifically, government final consumption expenditure rose by 1.1%. Additionally, gross fixed capital formation also saw a 1.1% rise.
An interesting aspect of the September quarter’s GDP was the contribution of 0.4% points from changes in inventories. Notably, mining inventories increased by AUD 2.4B, a reflection of the larger fall in exports compared to production volumes.
On the other hand, trade in services had a negative impact on growth. Imports of services surged by 8.4%, significantly outpacing the 1.9% growth in services exports.
