Australia's economy grew stronger in the second quarter of the year with support from continued consumer spending and strengthening in energy exports.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday reported Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) met forecasts by growing 0.9% in the second quarter after recording 0.7% growth in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, annual growth increased to 3.6% following strengthening in the labor market supporting household income and expenditure.
This strengthening is seen to further strengthen the reasons for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to continue with more aggressive tightening to curb continued inflation.
The central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 2.35% on Tuesday, indicating further steps will be determined by incoming data.
The economy has benefited from the A$2.2 trillion stimulus that boosted consumer spending during the pandemic. High energy export prices following Russia's war on Ukraine also support the country's economy to grow stronger.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal, accounting for more than half of the country's energy exports. It is also one of the world's leading producers of uranium and ranks sixth for exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Despite the encouraging reading of GDP data, the Aussie dollar failed to capitalize on this opportunity to rise. Instead, it slipped lower, weighed down by a much stronger US dollar.
