Australia’s current account surplus widens sharply in Q4

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s current account surplus rose sharply in the December quarter as resource exports boomed and imports eased, providing a sizable fillip to economic growth.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the current account surplus widened to A$14.1 billion in the fourth quarter. That was compared to a revised surplus of A$0.8 billion in the third quarter and handily beat forecasts of a A$6.5 billion surplus.

The ABS said net exports would add 1.1 percentage points to gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter, when analysts had looked for a contribution of 1.3 percentage points.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)