The Australian economy has rebounded strongly from the floods of early this year according to June quarter national accounts, though there are more recent signs of activity coming off the boil.
The June quarter national accounts showed the economy growing at its fastest pace in four years, mainly thanks to surprising resilience in household spending.
The 1.2% increase in GDP in the three months to the end of June represented a marked turnaround from a flat March quarter affected by the floods in eastern Australia.
A Radio New Zealand correspondent in Sydney says struggling retailers expressed disbelief at the data but statisticians say it just reflects a change in spending patterns towards services.
The one caution is that a contributor to GDP was a build-up in inventories which could easily be unwound this quarter.
