Australia's economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.9 percent in the first three months of the year, driven by exports and consumer spending, to take the annual rate of growth to 2.3 percent, data showed Wednesday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures were above expectations for the first-quarter and came a day after the central bank kept interest rates on hold at a record-low of 2.0 percent after two 25 basis points cuts this year.