SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian government spending jumped in the September quarter thanks to a splurge on infrastructure, data showed on Tuesday, making a sizable and much-needed contribution to economic growth.
Spending on operational items increased 1.4% in the third quarter from the previous quarter to an inflation-adjusted A$146.4 billion ($94.69 billion), the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.
Total investment in fixed assets by the government and public enterprises surged 6.3% to A$36.9 billion. In all, the ABS estimated total public spending rose 2.4%, adding 0.7 percentage points to third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP).
($1 = 1.5461 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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