AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO PERFORM.

SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian economy is expected to continue to perform over 2002/03 after it defied international gloom to deliver strong growth in 2001/02.

Consumer spending will be the key to how strong economic growth is this coming financial year, after the housing sector provided a boost to growth in the past year.

"Given we had a global recession in the last 12 months, for the Australian economy to have expanded... it is a pretty fantastic result given the backdrop," Deutsche Bank senior economist Tony Meer said, referring to the global recession towards the end of 2001.

He expects annual economic growth for 2001/02 to come in at around four per cent.

Economists noted the domestic economy performed very well through 2001/02 with the housing sector being one of the key drivers of the strong result.

"The economy received a boost from a housing sector... defying expectations of a slowdown and supporting strong, steady economic growth through the year," AAP economist Garry Shilson-Josling said.

Over the next 12 months economists have said that consumer spending will be a key driver of economic growth.