Australia’s economic growth accelerated in the first quarter even as disinflation pressures prompted the central bank to cut interest rates in May. The currency surged. Gross domestic product advanced 1.1 percent from three months earlier, when it gained a revised 0.7 percent, government data showed Wednesday. The growth, driven by exports and household spending, surpassed the median of 26 estimates for a 0.8 percent gain. The report spans a period when the price of iron ore accelerated amid resurgent demand in China and unemployment dropped to a two-and-a-half-year low. The nation’s tourism and education industries ... (full story)