The Australian economy grew 0.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, a rate described as solid by Federal Treasurer Peter Costello.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that the quarterly figure gave the nation an annual growth rate of 3.1 percent, well above market expectations.

The rise was largely driven by household consumption, which accounted for 0.6 percentage points of the 0.9 percent increase. Business investment and public investment made up the rest.

However, the housing sector dragged down growth by 0.2 percentage points.

The biggest single contributing sector to the growth was the finance and insurance area, which contributed 0.2 percentage points of the 0.9 percent increase.

Federal Treasurer Peter Costello welcomed the figures, saying in a statement that the economy is growing at a solid rate on the back of continuing strong business investment.

Source: Xinhua