AUSTRALIAN EXPORTS HELPING TO BOOST GDP The strong contribution of exports to the growth in Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 1986 was a significant and welcome feature of the data, private economists polled by Reuters said. Real GDP rose 1.1 pct in the fourth quarter of 1986, after rising 0.2 pct in the third quarter and falling 1.1 pct a year earlier. Equally significant was the decline in both private and government spending, they said. Exports of goods and services rose 13 pct in the fourth quarter, while imports rose only 2.9 pct, Statistics Bureau figures show. Consumer spending declined 0.6 pct and government spending by 0.2. Bob Edgar of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd said the government's aim of reducing the current account deficit by boosting exports and lowering consumption to cut imports appeared to be working. However, he cautioned that care must be taken to keep growth restrained because if it accelerated too fast imports would increase and worsen the balance of payments. Andre Morony of Bankers Trust Australia Ltd added the result was positive because growth was export-driven. But he said the GDP rise came as no surprise given the growth in exports disclosed in other statistics. The economists' comments were echoed by Treasurer Paul Keating in a statement issued in Canberra. Keating said the figures showed encouraging trends for a reduction in the current account deficit, notably the decline in domestic demand and the strong increase in exports. A further 3.5 pct fall in the terms of trade in the quarter underscored the need to continue restraint in wages, prices and public sector spending and borrowing to improve Australia's competitiveness, he said. "It is clear that through the continued application of that strategy Australia will make the necessary adjustments in its external accounts and return to a more sustainable growth pattern," he added.