Australia's economy expands faster than expected

Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S economy strengthened last year, supported by consumer and government spending, data showed on Wednesday, with the better-than-expected figures raising hopes that the resources-dependent nation is emerging out of a recent slump.

Economic growth expanded by 0.6 per cent in October to December to take the annual rate of expansion to a surprise 3 per cent, figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

The figures beat market expectations of fourth-quarter growth of 0.4 per cent for year-on-year growth of 2.5 per cent, and sent th…