Aussie growth puts on a spurt

Australia's economic expansion accelerated faster than expected in the first quarter as business and consumer spending climbed.

Gross domestic product was up 1.6 per cent on the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney yesterday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 26 economists was for a 1.2 per cent increase. Gross domestic product rose 3.8 per cent in the three months to March 31 from a year earlier.