SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian government spending on operational items rose 1.6 percent in the March quarter from the previous quarter to an inflation-adjusted A$84.62 billion ($64.70 billion), the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday.
Investment in assets by the government and public enterprises slipped 2 percent to A$22.26 billion. The data suggests overall government spending made a small addition to economic growth last quarter.
The data will feed into the gross domestic product (GDP) report for the March quarter due on Wednesday. Economic growth likely rose 0.8 percent last quarter, according to a median of 19 economists polled by Reuters, taking the annual pace to 2.8 percent.
(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Sam Holmes)
