Australia’s economy is growing at an annual rate of 3.1 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent three months ago, largely thanks to mining commodities exports.
Strong results in the mining exports have led to the significant growth of the economy, according to the Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The strong start to 2018 marks a significant increase in the rate of growth in seasonally adjusted terms, reports Reuters.
The ABS reported on late Wednesday that quickening growth in the March quarter was driven mostly by exports of mining commodities, in particular coal, iron ore and liquefied natural gas.
Export growth accounts for half the increase in gross domestic product, government spending for about a third.
Some economists are not surprised by the increased growth, which they say aligns output growth with jobs growth, which was unsustainably high at 3.5 per cent in 2017.
Andrew Hanlan, an economist of the Westpac bank, said on Thursday, "This is against the backdrop of stronger global growth, which accelerated in 2017 to the fastest pace since 2011."
In the past four quarters, the economy has grown by 1.01 per cent (March), 0.54 per cent (December 2017), 0.52 per cent (September 2017), and 1.03 per cent (June), bringing the annual growth rate to 3.1 per cent.
Economists, however, say the strong rise in net exports over the past three months is unlikely to be repeated.
Data shows exports of goods were up 2.9 per cent, powered by non-rural exports, with mining commodities, liquified natural gas, coal, iron ore and non-monetary gold the main drivers, which helped net exports rebound from their poor showing in the December quarter.