Spending is set to lift across the Australian economy this year, after healthy and sustainable growth continued during December, according to new research released today.

The Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Index (BSI), which tracks the value of credit and debit card transactions processed by Commonwealth Bank, saw spending rise by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in December, bringing annual growth for 2013 to 10.6%.

Seasonally adjusted data excludes certain seasonal factors to give a more accurate month to month comparison.

“The spending increase in 2013 has provided a strong foundation for further increases in 2014,” said CommSec economist, Savanth Sebastian.

“The housing recovery continues to gather momentum, while rising wealth levels, low interest rates and a recovering share market is supporting consumer confidence and in turn spending.

“The lower Australian dollar should also provide a boost to exports in coming months and help to alleviate the risks surrounding the rebalancing of the economy. “