Until yesterday most economists had expected today's national accounts data to reveal that Australia was technically in recession, after GDP shrank by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter.

Positive balance of payments figures for the March quarter, which showed strong net exports and a 27 per cent contraction in the current account deficit, have led to revised forecasts.

In other new the Australian dollar has hit $0.82 and the Australian National Retailers Association reported that retail sales rose 0.3 per cent in April, which is a positive sign for retailers and both Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi have reported "good" sales on consumer electronic goods during May despite severe shortages of stock including HD TV's, personal video recorders and home theatre kits.