Mining remains key to Australian GDP growth

Australian mining production grew 6.2% in the March quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in its latest Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product report. This follows a moderate December quarter result (1.4%).

Coal mining production was up 3.1% in the March quarter – behind “Other” mining (up 8.2%) and iron ore mining (up 7.6%). It marked the fifteenth consecutive quarter of growth in iron ore mining. Australian oil and gas production was also up by 5.1%.

Growth in the mining sector helped to boost export levels – the key driver in GDP growth of 1.1%. Exports were up 6.6% year on year and 4.4% on the December 2015 quarter, adding 1 percentage points to Australian GDP growth, according to the ABS.

This compared to household spending – the next largest contributor to GDP growth – which added only 0.4 percentage points.

Overall, the mining sector contributed 0.5 percentage points to Australian GDP growth of 1.1% compared to 0.2 percentage points from the financial services sector and 0.1 percentage points from the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector.

The ABS data “confirm that mining production remains a significant contributor to Australia’s economic growth,” said Brednan Pearson, Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/01062016/mining-remains-key-to-australian-gdp-growth-2016-875/