Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 0.5 per cent in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms in the December quarter 2022 and by 2.7 per cent through the year, according to figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Although this is the fifth consecutive rise in quarterly GDP, growth slowed in each of the last two quarters.
Katherine Keenan, ABS head of National Accounts, said final consumption and net trade were the major drivers of GDP growth.
“The 0.4 per cent rise in total consumption and 1.1 per cent rise in exports were the primary contributors to GDP growth in the December quarter. Continued growth in household and government spending drove the rise in consumption, while increased exports of travel services and continued overseas demand for coal and mineral ores drove exports,” she said.
Prices continued to grow strongly
The GDP Implicit price deflator (IPD) rose 1.6 per cent in the December quarter and 9.1 per cent through the year. Domestic prices grew strongly, up 1.4 per cent for the quarter and 6.6 per cent through the year. This was the strongest through the year growth in domestic prices since the March quarter 1990.
The terms of trade rose 7.2 per cent through the year, driving real gross domestic income to 4.4 per cent through the year. This lifted the purchasing power generated by real GDP.