Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.4 percent in the December quarter of 2011 after a revised increase of 0.8 percent in the September quarter, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday.

Over the year to December, GDP grew by 2.3 percent, seasonally adjusted in chain volume terms, the latest ABS figures showed.

Economists had been expecting a 0.7 percent GDP growth for the December quarter.

The ABS said on Wednesday that the growth for the three months to December 2011 was driven by the rises in final consumption expenditure, net exports and inventories.

The increases were partly offset by falls in dwelling investment and business investment, it said.

The industries that drove growth in the December quarter were financial and insurance services and manufacturing, each contributing 0.1 percent to growth in GDP.

The December quarter saw the terms of trade fall 4.7 percent, the first fall since September 2009, meaning export prices fell at a faster rate than those for imports.