The Australian Dollar surged against major currencies after the economy unexpectedly grew in the first quarter. Gross Domestic Product expanded 0.4% in the three months to March; economists had expected the metric to shrink -0.2%. In annual terms, the GDP growth rate fell to 0.4% from a revised 0.8% in the final quarter of 2008. The result bolsters RBA Governor Glenn Stevens’ argument that Australia will weather the current global downturn better than other industrialized countries.