Australia GDP up 3.4% in Q4 as election looms for Morrison

Consumers help push annual growth to 4.2% but Ukraine war fuels inflation threat

Australia's economy continues to recover from the pandemic, but the persistence of COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis make the outlook harder to gauge. © Reuters

PRASHANT MEHRA, Contributing writer

March 2, 2022 09:55 JST

Updated on March 2, 2022 12:13 JST

SYDNEY -- Australia's economy rebounded sharply last quarter as the country emerged from its most stringent pandemic lockdowns, in welcome news for Prime Minister Scott Morrison ahead of a tough election campaign.

The economy expanded by 3.4% in the three months to December, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 3.5% rise following the lockdown-driven 1.9% decline in the September quarter.